Two-thirds of employees feel more vulnerable to cyber threats

Nearly two-thirds (57%) of employees believe the shift to hybrid working has made them more vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to new research published by Advanced.

As detailed in the report, 20% of employees believe their employer is deliberately holding back when it comes to implementing new technologies that may reassure them. Yet despite this, more than a third (34%) of employees said they would be concerned about any change that might threaten their current work processes.

According to the report, it is this fear of adapting to new technologies and processes, among companies and some of their staff, that causes 62% of employees to see their current technology limited when it comes to supporting the remote or hybrid work.

The 2021/22 Advanced Trends report, which surveyed more than 1,000 employees about their experiences working in a post-pandemic environment, comes amid growing concern about how companies are adapting policies and technologies to adapt to the cultural and practical changes that many have undergone to maintain productivity levels during the crisis.

Cloud adoption has exploded to meet a new era of hybrid and remote working, in a shift that some analysts say may now be permanent. While enterprises are arguably more agile than they have ever been, they are also more vulnerable, with an increasing number of remote endpoints contributing to a rapidly expanding attack surface.

Built-in security is essential for a new normal productivity

When asked about security, 42% of respondents said that built-in security is the most important form of security when adopting new technologies such as those used in remote working.

“Cloud-based technology can provide far higher levels of security than on-premises legacy systems, but only when deployed correctly and implemented alongside adequate staff training and knowledge sharing,” says Justin Young, Director of Security and Compliance at Advanced.

“These results show that in addition to deploying effective technology solutions, companies can and should do more to prepare, educate and reassure their teams for the new normal,” he said.

Safety as part of a corporate culture

Global consultancy Gartner released figures early in the pandemic that suggested 95% of security failures in 2020 were due to human error, such as a lack of understanding or awareness of security best practices. Advanced’s report suggests that, with hybrid working now a permanent feature of the work landscape rather than a temporary solution to deal with the pandemic, staff education and training is something companies need to address forehead.

Young says insider threats, whether negligent, accidental or deliberate, are a huge problem.

“To manage this business challenge, it’s vital to focus on one of the most basic aspects of prevention,” he says.

“Employee awareness is the foundation of any security program and will make the difference between clicking on a link and having a breach or, identifying it as suspicious, reporting it to your IT provider and sending it to the trash. We can also help our fellow employees further by providing multi-factor authentication and reducing the chances of small mistakes becoming big problems.”

The report concludes that implementing cloud-based security effectively is really only half the battle when it comes to increasing a company’s risk posture. Employees should be educated and instructed in security hygiene best practices, such as changing passwords, storing files securely, enabling automatic security updates, and using the multi-factor authentication.