As the new school year begins, digital fatigue is spreading across organizations. Too many alerts, too many tools, and too many messages. Ultimately, no one is listening anymore.
Cybersecurity, which was intended to provide reassurance and protection, has sometimes become a silent source of pressure and even a cause of rejection.
Cyber fatigue has become a serious concept. Since 2022, several institutions, including ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity), have recognized this phenomenon.
ENISA defines cyber fatigue as “a gradual weariness or disengagement from security behaviors caused by an overload of instructions, alerts, or digital solicitations.”
This problem does not stem from employee unwillingness. Rather, it is a phenomenon of wear and tear caused by mental overload. We see it in many environments.
Here are some warning signs to help you determine if your company is affected
The primary cause of disengagement is not the content itself, but the lack of clarity.
In many organizations, security messages (alerts, internal emails, pop-ups) are:
Messages are perceived as an annoying background noise, which people click on without paying attention just to make the alert go away.
For instance, a company in the banking sector had set up an anti-phishing filter with an automatic alert whenever a suspicious link was clicked. But the message received by the user was an 18-line block of text in tiny font, with incomprehensible error codes and links to three help pages.
Instead of raising awareness, these kinds of alerts discourage, alienate, and annoy employees who want to receive emails related to their core business.
To increase read and report rates, a simple redesign is all it takes:
What you can do
Many organizations have a multitude of overlapping cybersecurity tools, but most people don’t know what each tool is used for. As a result, they don’t know where to look for information or which alerts are important.
Merging and streamlining tools instead of adding to them can create a more readable, unified solution. This solution reduces incident response time and increases team engagement.
This streamlining allows the IT team to focus on prevention instead of analyzing endless logs. Incident response times are reduced, and the IT team is finally able to focus on proactive measures.
Cyber awareness is essential. But if poorly designed, it can be counterproductive. Too often, messages are generic, as is training.
To prevent teams from losing interest, it is necessary to target specific profiles and risks: an HR department does not have the same risk profile as sales teams (management of employees’ personal data for the first, vs. customers’ personal data for the second, for example).
Good timing is essential: there is no point in flooding inboxes in September. It is better to integrate content when the subject becomes relevant (e.g., ahead of a GDPR audit, a change of tool, or a reported incident).
Keep it short, lively, and useful
Cyber fatigue doesn’t have to be inevitable; get back to basics by making your tools clearer, your messages more human, and your practices more consistent. Cybersecurity shouldn’t be a chore you get out of the way so you don’t have to see notifications anymore, but a shared value, a lever for trust, performance, and well-being at work. Do your company a favor: simplify, target, and prioritize clear, anxiety-free communication for maximum effectiveness.
Stay tuned for a new October theme ! In the meantime, if you have a movie, TV series, software, or e-book that you want to protect, don’t hesitate to call on our services by contacting one of our account managers. PDN has been a pioneer in cybersecurity and anti-piracy for over ten years, and we’re sure to have a solution to help you. Happy reading, and see you soon!
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