While much attention has been paid in recent years to the cybersecurity challenges caused by managing remote work, recent research from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University has found that perhaps we should be paying more attention to the risks caused by those in the office, as reported by Entrepreneur. Observes Joseph K. Nwankpa, author of the study to Entrepreneur, “When we surveyed remote workers, we expected the results to reveal cybersecurity complacency, but surprisingly, the survey revealed remote cyber vigilance.”
In many cases, it was found that those working remotely demonstrated higher levels of cybersecurity awareness, and took greater security precautions, due to a perception of being more responsible for their security. Instead, those in the office were found to be more relaxed about security on average, relying on the company to provide them with suitable cyberprotections. Says Nwankpa to Entrepreneur, “Our study found that working from the office within corporate firewalls and security boundaries induced employees to exhibit risky cybersecurity behavior, such as diminished cybersecurity awareness and precaution-taking. However, switching to remote work made employees feel insecure, leading to heightened cybersecurity awareness and cybersecurity precautionary measures.”
In response to these findings, companies may want to reconsider how they handle their cybersecurity training and policies, to ensure all employees, and not just those working remotely, are aware of the risks their actions may have to cybersecurity.
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