Managing human factors is a cornerstone of process safety, essential for preventing incidents that threaten personnel, the environment, and operational uptime. As Industrial Control System (ICS) cybersecurity threats escalate, applying these established human performance principles to cyber hygiene has become a critical necessity. Data suggests that the human element remains the most significant vulnerability; a 2018 Ponemon Institute study found that approximately 80% of insider-related cybersecurity incidents were accidental.
In the context of modern, malware-targeted environments, a simple error—such as inserting an infected USB drive—can escalate beyond equipment downtime to trigger a major process safety event. This paper evaluates how proven human performance improvement (HPI) techniques can be adapted to strengthen cybersecurity readiness and mitigate the risks of accidental insider threats in industrial settings.