Cybersecurity risk with remote work
Everyone knows that working remotely is the new new – but not many know the cybersecurity risk that come with remote work. Even fewer businesses implement the necessary processes to support a secure and efficient hybrid or remote work model.
Amongst the many things that have increased and sophisticated cyberattacks, is the trend of remote work which has opened a new playing field for cybercriminals.
Before the era of remote work, our devices and IT were protected by the four walls of the office. Now, to minimise cybersecurity risk, measures need to shift for every device, regardless of where it is.
This means deciding on a work location should not be as simple as asking your boss for permission. The decision to work remotely should be supported with initiatives to protect every device so that business data and information is secure.
What the stats have to say?
Don’t just take our word for it. Statistics are telling us that cybercriminals are profiting from this new trend of how and where we work.
Tenable®, Inc., the Cyber Exposure company, published a global study that revealed 73% of Australian organisations were victims of cyberattacks targeting remote workers over the past 12 months, making it one of the biggest risks facing Australian organisations in the new world of work.
How does remote work make my business more vulnerable?
Expanded attack surface
An attack surface refers to all the points where an attack can potentially breach an organisations security defenses. When you have employees access business data from various locations, this expands the attack surface. If left unprotected, these vulnerabilities will serve as opportunities for hackers.
Inadequate infrastructure
Home networks lack the enterprise-grade firewall, intrusion detection systems and secure configurations needed to protect business data. Consequently, this exposes data to potential breaches. For example, if an employee’s home network is compromised, sensitive business data transmitted over the internet can be intercepted. Another example is that if sharing the same network, malware can spread from personal devices to business systems.
Increased bad habits
Perhaps the most common factor is bad habits which is caused by a lack of oversight.
Tessian, found that 56% of senior IT technicians believe their employees have picked up bad cyber-security habits while working from home. What is more concerning is that many employees agreed with that statement.
Nearly two in five (39%) admitted that their cyber-security practices at home were less thorough than those practiced in the office, with half admitting that this is a result of feeling less scrutinised by their IT departments now, than before Covid.
Bad habits can include moving company data to personal email accounts, or using work devices for personal use, connecting to insecure public Wi-Fi networks, storing passwords unsafely, and neglecting security updates.
What can you do about it?
There are a few things you can train and encourage employees to do to keep business data more secure. Simple things you can do include:
- Training employees on good password hygiene, such as password managers, creating strong passwords, enabling MFA, etc
- Ensuring employees do not use public free Wi-Fi
- Staying up to date with security updates
Of course, these are only small things that your employees can do to safeguard business data. They do help, but there are more robust and comprehensive processes to make sure your business data is protected no matter where your team is based.
Let us handle your business cybersecurity
Leave the technology to the experts -so you can focus on what you do best. At Dynamic Business Technologies, we are a full-service IT provider. Enhancing and strengthening business security systems is at the core of what we do. With over 20 years of experience, our team knows how to craft IT solutions that not only work but are right for your business.
As Microsoft Partners, we use the best technology to make your business secure, no matter the location of your employees. We use Microsoft Intune to securely manage identities, apps, and devices to support a hybrid and remote workforce. Does your business have a hybrid or remote work model? Contact our team today to secure your business data from anywhere.
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