Trend Micro scrutinized the behavior of remote workers in its new study. In the study conducted by Sapio Research, an independent research company on behalf of Trend Micro, it has identified many behaviors that pose security threats to businesses, such as employees accessing corporate information from their personal devices without password protection, working on critical business information in public places without using a screen privacy filter.
Cloud Security leader Trend Micro conducted a study with more than 78 remote workers from 27 countries to closely examine employees' cyber security approaches and behaviors during this period, when 13 percent of employees moved from home to work during the pandemic. In the study, which examines human behavior, which is an important part of the cyber security strategy, independent Cyber Psychology Specialist Dr. It was worked with Linda K. Kaye. As a result of the research, it was revealed that there are four different behaviors in the studied people.
85 percent of employees in the study stated that they are cyber security conscious and aware that their own behavior can put the business at risk. Accordingly, most employees are aware that using unapproved platforms to send files, using a non-business application for company business, or clicking on suspicious emails are risky for corporate security. However, despite all this awareness, the risks created by the new working model continue to diversify and put businesses at risk.
The main cybersecurity threats revealed as a result of the research are as follows: Problems caused by WiFi: About two-fifths of the respondents stated that they use public WiFi, mostly without using a corporate VPN. It also turned out that a third of the employees worked on sensitive business documents in public places without using any screen privacy filters.
Online threats: More than a third of remote workers use their corporate laptop for personal purposes. This means that corporate data is exposed to malware transmitted from unsafe platforms such as torrent sites and unapproved applications. In addition, two-fifths (39 percent) of remote workers surveyed admitted that they mostly used their personal devices for work.
Shadow IT (Shadow IT): Remote workers can install various applications on their work or personal devices and use them for their professional work. This causes shadow IT to grow exponentially. Without the control of IT departments, employees use applications, software or services of their choice to store and access business data outside of the company data center, such as personal devices, online accounts, making Shadow IT a serious challenge for IT departments.
The fact that remote workers are the weakest link in the corporate cyber security chain has become a weakness that companies cannot ignore during the pandemic period. In this period when companies are moving towards making the flexible working model permanent, it becomes important for IT departments and managers to determine the behavior of their employees on security and to re-plan security strategies with the most appropriate security practices accordingly.
Hibya News Agency
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