Member Article

8 in 10 IT leaders believe companies are at a greater risk of cyber attacks when working from home

More than eight in 10 IT leaders (82%) think their company is at a greater risk of phishing attacks, and 78% believe they are at a greater risk of an insider attack, when employees are working from home, according to a new global report from Tessian, the human layer security company.

Tessian’s report, ‘Securing the Future of Hybrid Working’, follows the announcement from the UK government last week which urged UK office workers to work from home for the foreseeable future to slow down the spread of Covid-19. The new research addresses the IT and security challenges companies must overcome to deliver a safe remote working experience, long-term.

It reveals that the majority of IT leaders (85%) believe permanent remote work puts greater pressure on their teams while over a third (34%) are concerned that their teams will be stretched too far in terms of time and resource.

To combat these concerns, 43% of IT leaders are looking to upgrade or implement new BYOD policies and 58% said they will introduce more training. However, over a third of companies admitted they didn’t provide additional training to educate their staff on remote working risks at the start of the lockdown. And for those that did deliver additional training, nearly one in five workers did not attend.

The report suggests updating policies and implementing new approaches to cyber training now will help businesses in the long term, as remote work looks set to stay. In fact, 89% of employees said they do not want to work from the office full time, post-pandemic, while more than a third of respondents (35%) said they would not consider working for an employer that did not offer remote working in the future.

Tim Sadler, CEO, Tessian commented: “We saw last week how changes to how and where people work can happen overnight. But despite all the changes, one thing remains the same – the need to keep people safe. The government’s U-turn on work from home is critical to protecting the health and safety of employees and businesses also have a duty to ensure their staff can work from home effectively and securely.

“Business leaders must, therefore, understand the strain that remote working puts on IT teams and address the risks people are exposed to. Legacy security protocols are no longer equipped to protect distributed workforces and provide visibility into the behaviours of employees who rely on personal devices, risky channels like email, and public Wi-Fi to get their jobs done.

“Making people aware of the threats and educating them on safe remote working practices is an important first step. IT leaders must, then, find ways to alleviate the pressure on their teams, looking at solutions which can provide greater visibility into employee behaviour, predict and prevent threats, and automate manual tasks. This human-first approach to security is critical for businesses to thrive in a world where remote work becomes the norm.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nick Till .