IT security professionals demonstrate excessive trust despite concerns with remote work security programs
Apricorn announced new findings from the Apricorn 2021 Global IT Security Survey, which found that, in some instances, respondents have placed unwarranted trust in their employees, household members and third-party vendors. More than 400 IT security practitioners across North America and Europe responded to questions about security practices and policies during remote working conditions over the past 12 months. The findings show that IT security professionals are concerned about the cyber risks brought about by remote work, with 75% putting COVID-centric policies in place, including use of two factor authentication (48%) and encryption of sensitive data (41%).
Sixty percent of respondents agree that COVID-induced remote work conditions have created data security issues within their organizations, with 38% noting that data control during the pandemic has been very hard to manage. Even with these data control concerns, nearly 20% admitted that their work devices have been used by other members of their household. This surprising statistic from seasoned IT security professionals highlights that remote work policies can cause employees to relax their security stance when working outside of the office setting.