Threat Protection: Human at the Core

For many organisations, threat protection still conjures up a familiar image: a digital castle ringed by firewalls, guarded by endpoint protection, watched over by SIEM dashboards glowing late into the night. Technology stands tall, steel-clad and vigilant. 

And yet, history teaches us a quieter truth. Castles did not fall because walls were absent, but because gates were left open, guards were distracted, or decisions were made too late. Cyber security, for all its modern sophistication, remains a profoundly human endeavour. 

What we usually mean by threat protection 

In cyber security, threat protection is commonly understood as the capability to prevent, detect and respond to malicious activity. It encompasses technologies such as endpoint detection and response (EDR), network protection, identity security, email filtering and increasingly extended detection and response (XDR). 

These controls matter. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, organisations with mature security automation detect and contain breaches significantly faster, reducing both dwell time and financial impact. The same report places the global average cost of a data breach at over USD 4 million, with detection and escalation accounting for the largest share of that cost. 

But here lies the first contrast: while attackers automate relentlessly, defenders often assume technology alone will compensate for human fragility. It will not. 

Technology alone does not defend an organisation 

Threat protection is not a product; it is a system. And every system has three pillars: technology, process and people. Neglect one, and the structure weakens. 

The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) consistently shows that human involvement plays a role in the majority of breaches, whether through phishing, credential misuse or simple error. Meanwhile, ENISA has highlighted how skills shortages and operational overload are becoming structural risks within European cyber defence. 

In other words: attackers innovate, tools improve, but people remain at the centre of both vulnerability and resilience. Let us examine three human roles that define modern threat protection. 

The employee: the first and most exposed line of defence 

The average employee is not a security expert, yet they are exposed daily to cyber threats: phishing emails, business email compromise, malicious links, deepfake voice calls, QR-code attacks and credential harvesting. 

AI has raised the stakes dramatically. Generative AI enables attackers to craft near-perfect phishing messages in fluent language, personalised with scraped data from social media and business platforms. Deepfake audio can now convincingly imitate executives, turning social engineering into psychological theatre. This is not about blame. It is about reality. Employees operate under time pressure, cognitive overload and trust-based workflows. Even the most advanced email security will occasionally fail — and when it does, the human decision becomes decisive. 

Security awareness training, therefore, is not a compliance exercise. It is muscle memory. Regular training, simulations and contextual nudges transform staff from soft targets into active sensors within the organisation. 

The security operations professional: judgement under pressure 

If the employee stands at the perimeter, the security operations team fights in the fog of war. 

Modern SOC analysts face an avalanche of alerts. AI-driven detection helps by correlating signals, prioritising incidents and automating triage. Yet AI does not decide,  people do. Analysts must interpret context, assess intent, weigh business impact and choose a response: isolate a system, block an identity, shut down a service — or wait. Each decision carries consequences. 

Here, contrast becomes stark. Move too slowly, and attackers entrench themselves. Move too fast, and you disrupt the business you are meant to protect. This is not a technical dilemma; it is a human one. 

Tabletop exercises, playbooks and continuous training help sharpen judgement. So does experience. A well-supported analyst is not just responding to alerts, but orchestrating defence in real time. 

The IT administrator: guardians of security posture 

IT administrators rarely sit in the spotlight of cyber defence, yet they shape the battlefield every day. Their responsibilities include patching vulnerabilities, managing identities, correcting misconfigurations, following up on attack surface management insights and continuously evolving the infrastructure. Cloud sprawl, hybrid environments and constant change make this a moving target. 

Misconfigurations remain one of the most common root causes of breaches, as documented by both ENISA and cloud security reports from major providers. Attackers do not always break in; often, they simply walk through doors left ajar. 

IT and security operations perform different roles, but their objectives are inseparable. Without disciplined follow-up, prioritisation and collaboration, even the best detection becomes a rear-view mirror. 

Strengthen the human chain, or accept the weakest link 

Here lies the central truth: everything you underinvest in becomes weaker over time. 

People are not a risk to be managed away, but a capability to be cultivated. Identify their position, understand their pressures, acknowledge their uncertainty and act sustainably. Security awareness programmes, tabletop exercises, knowledge days and cross-team collaboration are not “nice to have”. They are structural controls. 

This was true in the Middle Ages, when watchmen, messengers and commanders defended cities. It is true today in digital form. And it will remain true thirty years from now, though the weapons will look different. 

Wortell MxDR: where technology and people reinforce each other 

At Wortell, we believe effective threat protection emerges where strong technology and skilled people are inseparably connected. Our MXDR approach combines advanced detection and response capabilities with experienced security professionals who understand context, business impact and human behaviour. 

Because cyber security is not just about building higher walls — it is about ensuring the right people are standing at the right place on those walls, at the right moment. 

And that, ultimately, is where true resilience begins.