One Click Cost MGM Resorts $100 Million

In September 2023, a threat actor called Scattered Spider called the MGM Resorts help desk, impersonated an employee found on LinkedIn, and convinced IT staff to reset credentials. The result: ten days of operational chaos, encrypted systems, and an estimated $100 million in losses. It started with one conversation — not a sophisticated zero-day exploit.

That incident is the reason I wrote this guide. Cybersecurity best practices for employees aren't abstract corporate policies. They're the specific behaviors that prevent your name from showing up in a breach notification letter. Whether you're a receptionist or a CTO, the fundamentals below apply to you right now, in 2026, with threats evolving faster than most training programs can keep up.

Why Employees Are the #1 Attack Vector

Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report has confirmed it year after year: the human element is involved in roughly 68-74% of breaches. That includes phishing, credential theft, misuse, and simple errors. Threat actors don't need to hack your firewall when they can hack your people.

I've seen it firsthand in incident response engagements. The attacker sends a convincing email, an employee enters their password on a spoofed login page, and within minutes the attacker is inside the network. No malware needed. No alarms triggered. Just a stolen credential and an open door.

This is why organizations that invest exclusively in technology and ignore security awareness training keep getting burned. Tools matter, but behavior matters more.

The 10 Cybersecurity Best Practices Every Employee Needs

1. Treat Every Unexpected Email as Suspicious

Phishing remains the dominant initial access method for ransomware, business email compromise, and credential theft. If you receive an email with urgency, a link, or an attachment you weren't expecting — pause. Verify the sender through a separate channel before clicking anything.

Organizations should reinforce this behavior with regular phishing awareness training and simulations. Simulated phishing campaigns don't just test employees — they build muscle memory for recognizing social engineering in real time.

2. Use Strong, Unique Passwords for Every Account

Credential stuffing attacks rely on people reusing passwords. When a breach at one service exposes your credentials, attackers try those same credentials on your corporate accounts, your email, and your bank. Use a password manager. Generate passwords that are at least 16 characters. Never reuse them.

3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication Everywhere

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) stops the vast majority of automated credential theft attacks. Even if an attacker has your password, MFA adds a barrier they often can't bypass. Use app-based authenticators or hardware keys — SMS-based MFA is better than nothing, but it's vulnerable to SIM-swapping attacks.

4. Lock Your Screen Every Time You Walk Away

This sounds trivial. It isn't. I've conducted physical security assessments where I walked into unlocked offices, sat at unlocked workstations, and had full access to internal systems in under sixty seconds. Windows key + L. Command + Control + Q. Make it reflexive.

5. Never Share Credentials — Not Even with IT

Your legitimate IT department will never ask for your password. Period. If someone calls, emails, or messages you asking for credentials, that's social engineering. This is exactly how the MGM breach started. Report it immediately.

6. Verify Unusual Requests Through a Second Channel

CEO fraud — also called business email compromise — cost organizations $2.9 billion in 2023 according to the FBI IC3 Annual Report. The attack is simple: an attacker impersonates an executive via email and requests a wire transfer or sensitive data. Always verify unusual financial or data requests by calling the requestor directly on a known phone number.

7. Keep Software and Systems Updated

Unpatched software is the second-most-common initial access vector after phishing. When your operating system or application prompts you for an update, don't postpone it for a week. Those patches frequently close actively exploited vulnerabilities. On corporate devices, work with IT to ensure automatic updates are enabled.

8. Be Cautious on Public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi networks at airports, coffee shops, and hotels are hunting grounds for man-in-the-middle attacks. If you must use public Wi-Fi, connect through your organization's VPN. Better yet, use your phone's mobile hotspot. Never access sensitive systems over an unsecured network.

9. Report Security Incidents Immediately

In my experience, the difference between a minor security event and a full-blown data breach is often measured in minutes. If you clicked a suspicious link, entered credentials on a questionable site, or noticed something odd on your machine — report it to your security team right away. No one gets fired for reporting. People get fired for hiding it.

10. Treat Physical Security as Cybersecurity

Tailgating through secure doors, leaving USB drives unattended, printing sensitive documents and forgetting them at the printer — these are all attack vectors. A threat actor who gains physical access to your building can plant network implants, steal devices, or access unattended workstations. Challenge unfamiliar faces. Secure your devices.

What Are Cybersecurity Best Practices for Employees?

Cybersecurity best practices for employees are specific, repeatable behaviors that reduce the risk of a security breach caused by human error or social engineering. They include using strong unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, recognizing phishing emails, verifying unusual requests, reporting incidents quickly, and keeping software updated. These practices apply to every employee regardless of role or technical skill level.

The $4.88M Lesson Most Organizations Learn Too Late

IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report pegged the global average cost of a breach at $4.88 million in 2024. Organizations with trained employees and incident response plans consistently reported lower costs and faster containment. Training isn't overhead — it's insurance with a measurable ROI.

Yet I still walk into organizations where security awareness training consists of a single annual video that employees click through while checking their phones. That's not training. That's compliance theater.

Effective training is continuous, scenario-based, and tied to the actual threats your industry faces. It includes phishing simulations, tabletop exercises, and reinforcement throughout the year. If you're looking for a structured starting point, our cybersecurity awareness training program covers the exact behaviors outlined in this post — and it's designed for real employees, not IT professionals.

Building a Zero Trust Mindset on the Ground Floor

Zero trust isn't just a network architecture — it's a philosophy. "Never trust, always verify" applies to every email, every phone call, every request for access. When employees internalize this mindset, they become your strongest layer of defense.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

  • Verify before you trust. An email from your CEO asking for gift cards? Call and confirm.
  • Limit what you share. Don't post your job title, direct reports, or internal tools on social media. Threat actors use this for reconnaissance.
  • Question urgency. Attackers create artificial time pressure to bypass critical thinking. Slow down.
  • Assume compromise. Treat every device, network, and account as potentially compromised and act accordingly.

This isn't paranoia. It's how organizations with mature security cultures operate. CISA's Zero Trust Maturity Model lays out the technical framework, but it only works when employees adopt the behavioral side of the equation.

Your Security Culture Starts Monday

Technology alone won't save your organization. Firewalls, endpoint detection, and SIEM tools are critical — but they're the second line of defense. Your employees are the first.

Every single one of the cybersecurity best practices for employees listed above is something a person can start doing today without a budget approval or a tool purchase. Password manager? Download one tonight. MFA? Enable it on every account this week. Phishing awareness? Enroll your team in a phishing simulation program and start building real resilience.

The attackers targeting your organization aren't waiting. They're studying your employees' LinkedIn profiles, crafting pretexts, and testing your defenses right now. The question isn't whether your people will face a social engineering attack in 2026. It's whether they'll recognize it when it arrives.