New research from leading cybersecurity provider Hornetsecurity has found that 33% of companies are not providing any cybersecurity awareness training to users who work remotely.
The study also revealed nearly three-quarters (74%) of remote staff have access to critical data, which is creating more risk for companies in the new hybrid working world.
Despite the current lack of training and employees feeling ill-equipped, almost half (44%) of respondents said their organisation plans to increase the percentage of employees that work remotely
“Traditional methods of controlling and securing company data aren’t as effective when employees are working in remote locations and greater responsibility falls on the individual said, Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity. “Companies must acknowledge the unique risks associated with remote work and activate relevant security management systems, as well as empower employees to deal with a certain level of risk”.
The independent survey quizzed 925 IT professionals from a range of business types and sizes globally.
“We’ve seen an increase in smartphone attacks as hackers understand that both personal and professional data can likely be accessed as people can, and often do, carry out work on personal devices”, Hoffman commented.
While companies have adapted to new ways of working, cybersecurity risks linked to remote working, remain un-tackled. Nearly a fifth of IT professionals (18%) say workers are not secure when working remotely, but almost three-quarters of employees (74%) have access to critical data. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 14% of respondents said their organization suffered a cybersecurity incident related to remote working.
The study also highlighted a lack of understanding, confidence and knowledge around cybersecurity from employees when working remotely. Nearly half (43%) of IT professionals rate their confidence in their remote security measures as ‘moderate’ or worse, with the survey also finding that ‘uncontrolled file sharing’ was a common source of cybersecurity incidents (16%).
The study found that the main sources of cybersecurity incidents were compromised endpoints (28%) and compromised credentials (28%). In addition, 15% said that employees use their own devices with some endpoint configuration for remote work.
