Cyber security and the remote workforce

Current world events have forced a sudden remote-working economy that many businesses were simply not prepared for. According to a Gartner survey of 229 human resources (HR) managers, 81% or more are working remotely, and 41% are likely to do so at least some of the time even once a return to normal working is permitted. This sudden rise in remote working is not only challenging employees to work in a way they had not previously, but it has also impacted the cyber-risk profile of enterprises worldwide. Organisations have built policies and procedures that protect individuals and the organisation’s infrastructure. However, unless a significant percentage of employees had previous access to proper remote access technologies, there is a real risk of employees making bad choices. Organisations need to implement the correct tools to mitigate these threats, explains Kevin Curran of Ulster University.