Science & Technology

Remote employees put cybersecurity of their workplaces under risk

The survey, conducted by Opinium, questioned 3,000 employees in the UK and Germany who are now working remotely

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Remote employees put cybersecurity of their workplaces under risk. Source: pixabay.com

According to AT&T research, 54% of employees are regularly using their work devices for personal purposes, including sharing work equipment with family members.

The data has found that over a third of those questioned admitted to using work equipment to connect to smart home devices (35%) such as voice assistants (14%), and smart speakers (14%). Meanwhile, 13 of the respondents are using their work equipment to connect fitness monitors, and 12% are doing so to connect smart lighting and smart kitchen appliances.

At the same time, the research shows that workers understand the problem. In fact, 66% said they are more aware of cybersecurity threats since shifting to home working. Besides, 49% of the respondents in the UK and 38% in Germany and their companies, 52% in the UK; 42% in Germany, are at increased risk of cyberattacks.

Along with that, 55% have been the target of a cybersecurity threat while working remotely over the past year, and 29% said their company isn’t doing enough to protect them from cybersecurity threats.

Nevertheless, when it comes to taking responsibility, 66% of employees say that practicing good cybersecurity at work is challenging. 22% of them are citing a lack of adequate training or technical support, while 18% – lack of prioritization by senior management. Indeed, 1 in 5 employees says there is no way they could be encouraged to care about cybersecurity risk.

The lines between our professional and personal lives are blurring and that includes our online behaviors. It's clear that businesses can only protect their networks by mitigating for those behaviors. Cybercriminals are launching cyberattacks at the most vulnerable point – the remote worker. Businesses who initially compromised on cybersecurity to speed up the transition to homeworking are taking a tremendous risk. They must address cyber risks now to provide for business continuity and help protect their workforce and business for the future
John V. Slamecka, region president EMEA & LATAM, AT&T Business

We’ve reported that there’s a digital skills gap between males and females.

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