However, over a quarter of these businesses fail to prepare basic security precautions and 30% don’t restrict file access to their remote workers.

Working Remotely Could Compromise Cyber Security

According to a 2018 study, 70% of people globally work remotely at least once a week; these statistics have not gone unnoticed by the savvy cyber criminal.

80% of all businesses in the UK have seen an increase in staff working remotely over the past two years according to a recent report by CybSafe.

However, over a quarter of these businesses fail to prepare basic security precautions and 30% don’t restrict file access to their remote workers.

When over four million people work from home, the opportunity for cyber criminals exploiting this statistics has started to increase. Additionally, the lure of free Wi-fi for those working from home or out of the office has seen cyber criminality soar exponentially in recent years.

The appeal of working in a trendy coffee shop amongst the productive amalgamation of stimulating smells and noises has encouraged many a workaholic to take advantage of the free Wi-fi services on offer. However, these free public Wi-fi hotspots can be extremely unsafe and can put your data and the company’s data at great risk.

Similarly, taking a device home or working from a home device could compromise the firm’s cyber security if files are uploaded or accessed from devices with minimal fraud prevention.

32% of the businesses surveyed admitted that they had suffered from a cyber attack in the past 12 months due to remote working practices in their firms.

75% of respondents believed that their staff were educated in cyber security enough to prevent attacks. However, the report suggests that senior members of staff may be too confident in this respect.

Additionally, only half of the respondents had offered their staff formal training in cyber security.

Oz Alashe, CEO and founder of CybSafe, said: “Most business leaders assume that their people know how to work safely when working remotely – but the number of data breaches caused by staff working remotely and the lack of training indicates that this isn’t the case.

“Training staff so they recognise and deal with threats at work, on the go, and at home [is] important.

“We work on the train, in coffee shops, and even walking down the street. The way we work as a nation has changed dramatically over the course of just a decade. How businesses manage cyber security and training must reflect our lifestyles and help us develop good habits so we can avoid becoming victims.”

Effective cyber security protocols could prevent your firm from severe reputational and financial damage. Preparing a detailed remote working policy could prevent your firm from being overly exposed.

Do you have a clear remote working policy in place? Have you been targeted by cyber criminals when using a personal device?

One Response

  1. Interesting article and so true.
    Received no formal training on this, any suggestions would be very useful.
    Many thanks

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