For many of us, working from home is the new reality. Unfortunately, not every employee is following the same strict security regulations that they did in the office when they were under the watchful eyes of IT and information security teams. This lax approach to security while working from home puts organisations at risk of cyberattacks or data breaches. The upshot is that IT teams need to take action to manage this risky behaviour.

Understandably, working from home can come with the risk of distractions like childcare; family, housemates and the inconvenience caused by the lack of office set–up, as well as the use of personal devices for work. This context can lead to employees ignoring or taking short-cuts with company security practices. 

According to a report by Tessian, employees working from their own devices seem to ease their guard more when it comes to the security of their company’s confidential information, since they’re not following the same safe data practices they used on their work devices and in their office environment. In addition to the new environmental challenges, some employees have also revealed that they have had to cut security corners to meet tight deadlines when they were under pressure to get work done quickly. In fact, half of those surveyed said they have had to find other ways around security policies to do the work they are required to do and meet deadlines. 

To tackle this issue, we recommend two things that your business can do.

  1. Enable multifactor authentication, if not already doing so.
  2. Ensure that you have a strict bring your own device (BYOB) policy. IT departments should not only provide your employees with a secure network connection wherever possible, but also, they should provide reliable security training to reduce the risks of cyberattacks due to human error. 
  3. Sign up for Softwerx’s free remote security assessment workshop delivered by top experts. This workshop assesses the state of your remote infrastructure, and shares remote security best practices. 

 

 

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