Many giant IT organizations recently announced they continue with work from home policy permanently. And more and more companies adopting permanent work from home models. So, it is clear that remote working models are here to stay. And one of the biggest challenges that companies are going to face is IT security challenges for home employees as we all prepare for life after a pandemic.
Employees who work remotely rely on their home networks, and their own devices most of the time, which needless to say can lead to a lot of unprecedented risks and challenges. And you'd best hope these employees are tech-savvy because there is only one option is that your IT team can do to assist them if they run into problems. Now, for remote employees, it is crucial for all organizations to give attention to cybersecurity services to protect their working from home models.
Some Statistics on IT Issues
According to a recent survey, 70 percent of remote employees reported IT issues during the pandemic, with 54 percent having to wait up to three hours for a solution. Additionally, 68 percent of remote workers use personal devices for work. During the COVID-19 outbreak, 3 out of 4 employees working from home did not receive any special cybersecurity consulting or training from their companies. Furthermore, one out of every four employees reported receiving phishing emails related to COVID-19.
Phishing Emails
One of the most prominent threats remote workers face is attackers sending phishing emails. These phishing email scams gather personal details or coax them to download malicious attachments containing a keylogger. Phishing is already a top concern and not remote work adds high risks of a data breach. As per a recent report, 600% increase in phishing scams since the beginning of the pandemic. This makes good cybersecurity consulting even more important for remote employees.
Weaker Security Controls
The relaxation of firewall rules and email policy is only a small part of the security restrictions that get weakened with work from home. Remote workers will be exempt from many levels of existing cyber security. Workers who take their work gadgets home with them will be stripped of their defences when their Wi-Fi replaces the business network. Client devices will remain unprotected and vulnerable to unsecured networks among possibly hacked devices, making it extremely important to have effective cybersecurity solutions.
Infrastructure for Remote is vulnerable to attacks
Aside from existing safeguards being compromised, generating new infrastructure will introduce additional dangers. Brute force and server-side assaults are major risks. Protection from DDoS will be necessary. This will be the first time that a DDoS attack has the potential to kill a company by prohibiting remote workers from accessing services over the internet. Such risks can pose disastrous threats to any company unless proper cybersecurity solutions are implemented.
Read More: The Cybersecurity Risks Surrounding Hybrid Work Models