Working From Home Increases Cybersecurity Risks, Say Enforcement Agencies

By AIT News Desk On Aug 17, 2021

Checking staff cybersecurity knowledge helps hybrid working teams stay safe

Working from home has significantly increased cybersecurity vulnerabilities over the past two years, according to the world’s leading enforcement agencies. Employers must ensure that their staff can work safely from home as they continue with hybrid working arrangements, says online assessment provider Questionmark.

“Human error contributes toward a huge number of cyber breaches, and these can be avoided. Now that employers are introducing permanent hybrid working arrangements, they should ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. The best starting point is to identify how much they know now.”

The most hacked technologies over the past two years include virtual private networks (VPNs) and cloud-based environments, both common tools when working from home. These technologies topped a list of 30 tech vulnerabilities compiled by the leading cybersecurity enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Firms around the world are set to continue some level of working from home post-pandemic. Many are adopting hybrid working arrangements in which employees split their working week between home and the office.

John Kleeman, Founder of Questionmark, said: “Human error contributes toward a huge number of cyber breaches, and these can be avoided. Now that employers are introducing permanent hybrid working arrangements, they should ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them. The best starting point is to identify how much they know now.”

The Questionmark Cybersecurity for Home-Based Workers assessment is a ready-made test that enables employers to measure the level of cybersecurity awareness across the workforce.

Where the test identifies problems, employers can introduce training to address them. Further assessments can check that the training has worked.