What’s The Biggest Threat to Working From Home? Laziness.

In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to move to a work from home model that has continued into 2021 for a lot of larger companies. While this may look like an impediment to business operations it actually has resulted in a 47% increase in productivity amongst workers. Regardless of the pandemic it looks as if the work from home model may be granted an extended stay as it decreases costs for businesses while simultaneously increasing work output. So how does this affect our cybersecurity?

Risks With Working From Home

There are some risks when it comes to adopting a complete work from home model. Some of them include:

• Connecting to insecure WiFi – When you’re connecting to your home network you may not be connected to something as secure as it would be in the office space. This is where VPN’s and VDI’s are key. Additionally, home office routers are typically chalk full of security issues. Securing you home network is a key step in protecting yourself at home.
• Online Data Sharing – Working from home comes with an increased amount of data sharing whether that be through email, file sharing, or messaging. Making sure that these end points are secure is crucial.
• Having A Good IT Staff – IT workers are stretched thin in WFH conditions as they have to provide extensive support to remote workers.

The Biggest Threat May Be Our Attitudes?

But what is the biggest threat when it comes to employees working from home? A recent study from HP reveals that younger employees would rather bypass important security regulations in order meet deadlines faster and be more efficient.

Many IT workers have stated they were asked to let security “take a backseat” in order for employees to get work done faster. Out of the workers surveyed 91% reported feeling “pressured into compromising security for business practices.

Additionally, almost half of all office workers think cybersecurity wastes time and makes their job harder. This shows that one of the largest threats to home security is one of attitude. Cybersecurity feels inconvenient to work day operations so employees would rather ditch it all together in exchange for increased productivity. It even goes as far as IT workers describing their job as a “thankless task” as 70% of workers believe they are seen as “the bad guys” for trying to secure their peers while they work from home.

While working from home may be more convenient, there cannot be an allowance for an apathetic attitude toward security when working from home. Even though some precautions seems over the top or inconvenient it is significantly better than the alternative. This is why CIT makes security simple. We focus on taking the pressure off of your IT staff by managing you security needs. To learn more about how CIT can protect your business in a work from home environment contact us today and don’t gamble with your security!

Corporate Information Technologies provides small to mid-market organizations with expert I.T. services including compliance assessment, cybersecurity penetration tests, and comprehensive business continuity planning services. Corporate Information Technologies can help organizations, quantify, create, refine, and mitigate the risks presented by business threatening disasters in whatever form they may be disguised. 

One Partner. Total Cybersecurity.