It’s the nightmare scenario that gives IT professionals sleepless nights…
A criminal element gains access to your systems and that all-important data via a remote worker, thereby creating havoc across the organisation and impacting everyone, including your customer base.
Whether the aim is to steal personal information, or heaven forbid, unleash a major and costly ransomware attack, the immediate reaction will be to point the finger firmly in the direction of the IT department.
But in the aftermath of an attack, after the post-mortem, and before your organisation’s leaders start handing out reprimands, warnings, or start to initiate sackings, take time to consider the following.
Many IT professionals have been shouting about the need to strengthen security in the wake of the move to remote working, but it would appear that their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
91% of IT teams said they had been pressured into compromising security.
A new study, published by HP Wolf Security combined global research covering IT decision makers together with data from a YouGov survey that targeted office workers who had adopted working from home.
The results made for some pretty scary reading.
- A staggering 91% of IT teams stated that in order to facilitate remote working they had felt pressured into compromising security for the sake of business continuity.
- 50% went on to describe this pressure as “significant”.
- 76% of IT departments felt that because they are being directed to sidestep security in order to create shortcuts, it has left them in a no-win scenario.
A “ticking time-bomb”.
Worryingly, 83% of respondents are convinced that this has created a “ticking time bomb” that could see security incidents blow up at any time.
When questioned further about the type of threats that their organisation faces:
- 84% saw ransomware as a “significant” or “very significant” risk.
- 83% of respondents cited unpatched vulnerabilities and firmware attacks.
- 82% stated data leakage.
- 81% said account or device takeover.
- While 79% highlighted targeted attacks and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Apathy. Especially among younger staff.
Despite these very real threats to the organisation and people’s livelihoods, there remains a general feeling of apathy when it comes to addressing cybersecurity in the remote workspace.
48% of office workers thought that essential security measures simply wasted their time. This figure rose to 64% among 18–24-year-olds, with the majority being more concerned about meeting deadlines than breaking security protocols.
39% of office workers admitted that they weren’t sure what their organisation’s security policies were, or if they even existed.
It’s time to take collective responsibility.
The organisation as a whole must wake up to the fact that it is now facing growing numbers and increasing severity of attacks.
The IT department should no longer have to take all the responsibility for securing the organisation by itself. IT staff are already under enormous amounts of pressure simply trying to keep your organisation safe under increasingly challenging circumstances and with reduced visibility.
Cybersecurity is an end-to-end discipline that demands everyone within the organisation follows, regardless of their job title.
What can you do to help shoulder the burden?
To help everyone in your organisation understand the challenges of ensuring remote workers are secure at all times, we have compiled a practical guide. It is based on our hands-on experience in real world scenarios across a range of clients.
10 steps to permanent remote or hybrid working will take you through the entire process by covering the following key areas:
- Define your KPIs
- Sourcing & configuring the equipment
- The deployment
- Make security your top priority
- Ensure your people remain productive
- Support your remote workers
- Manage the equipment
- Round the clock maintenance
- Careful & accurate monitoring
- Keep an eye on the entire process
To download your free copy, click here.
What challenges do you face?
If you are facing challenges, no matter where you are on your remote working journey, we would be happy to hear from you. Just pick a slot in the calendar and Peter will be happy to help.
Alternatively, feel free to call 0161 537 4980 and ask for Peter Grayson or email peter.grayson@quadris.co.uk