Remote working and data security in a digital world

Introduction: The impact of remote working on data security

The phenomenon of remote working has been widely discussed for decades, particularly around the subject of digital transformation and dexterity. However, until 2020, even a hybrid approach was rare; the office remained the heart of the business. In sectors such as education, government, and healthcare, working remotely was especially scarce. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the hand of businesses worldwide to accelerate their digital strategies for the purpose of business continuity, during an unprecedented shift to remote working. Employees made home offices out of spare bedrooms and kitchens; office-based teams became remote workforces overnight - and so a flexible working culture began to evolve.

Now, nearly two years later, remote working is the norm. But with our new-found flexibility comes a variety of security challenges. Can stakeholders still trust that their data is handled securely? Do employees, business leaders, and IT professionals truly understand where security risks lie? And to what extent can IT teams facilitate a remote workforce? We set out to investigate how hundreds of IT and security professionals are combatting the challenges facing their organizations in a remote and increasingly digital world.

About the survey:

Zivver and IT platform, AG Connect, conducted a survey among 486 IT professionals in the first half of 2021 to investigate security challenges in relation to remote working, digital communications, and data security. The majority of respondents work in government agencies, however, professionals from business services, financial enterprises, education, healthcare, and the communications sectors are also represented. Respondents answered twenty questions on the requirements and resources for secure remote working in an increasingly digital world.

The purpose of this report is to indicate the current state of security and, above all, to identify areas in which there is still room for improvement. We hope the findings will support business leaders in making informed decisions on the matter of digital communications and data protection across a remote workforce.

Executive summary

The phenomenon of working from home has been discussed for decades. However, due to the acceleration of digital communications, and the democratization of technology coupled with a global pandemic that forced teams to lock their office doors for an undetermined period of time practically overnight, many businesses have been caught short or are not prepared for a remote workforce.

There are many considerations raised by remote working, ranging from wellbeing and security, to information sharing and communication. But are business leaders focused on empowering individuals to work remotely? Is safeguarding communications, and the impact this can have, truly understood?

Zivver, in collaboration with IT platform, AG Connect, sought to explore this further, with a particular focus on the importance businesses place on creating an environment in which people can share information and communicate with confidence. Together, Zivver and AG Connect conducted a survey among 486 IT professionals across a variety of sectors to unpack the challenges and opportunities for working remotely.

This report paints a picture of the current landscape, and highlights the areas in which organizations can still improve in terms of understanding the impact of safeguarding digital communications. We hope that the insights in this report will help business leaders to empower their teams in making data driven decisions, drive action, and achieve results securely, all the while working remotely.

The main conclusions from the report center around the use of resources and tools, security challenges, unsafe communications and the causes of data leaks.

Use of resources to support secure digital communications

According to our respondents, the tools most implemented by their employers are antivirus software, access control and backups. In addition, the report reveals that there is an uplift in people considering the introduction of endpoint monitoring and policies for flexible working. Despite 80-90% of data leaks occurring in outbound communications, our research shows that a staggering 70% of those surveyed are not worried about the information being shared. Immediate awareness is required to empower workforces to be able to communicate, succeed, and share sensitive information with confidence.

Challenges of security

What are the main security challenges people experience as they evolve to a remote working culture?

• 46% of respondents claim that more emails are being sent with an increase in remote working
• Preventing data leaks is acknowledged by 74% of respondents as being the largest challenge with remote working
• Additionally, security awareness among employees urgently requires attention, with nearly 72% of respondents stating that the awareness level of security issues amongst their employees is one of the main challenges with remote working.

Causes of data breaches

There is a discrepancy between the actual causes of data breaches and the data breaches known to many organizations. Almost 75% view hacking, malware and phishing as the main causes of data leaks, despite the Dutch Data Protection Authority showing that only 5% of data breaches are actually caused by said malicious attacks, with outbound communication the cause of 85% of data breaches. Not only are the causes of data leaks misunderstood, but keeping track of security issues seems to be a challenge for many organizations. A large proportion of respondents indicated that they are not aware of whether there has been a data breach in their organization.

Five key take-outs:

01

Full 360 degree security review: securing all paths of digital communications is what’s key. Focusing only on inbound (what’s coming into your systems, for example) is the equivalent of locking your windows but leaving your front door wide open.

02

Empower users: enable individuals to securely do their jobs through smart technology whilst lessening the need for training.

03

One size does not always fit all: consider solutions that offer right sized levels of secure communication supportive of use-case and recipient technology capabilities (not all situations require tight security and vice versa).

04

Technology is powerful - maximize it whenever possible: having powerful machine-learning detection and automation wherever possible is key.

05

It’s not just about where information is coming from: being able to smartly detect the status of the recipient’s/user’s set-up provides a critical layer of security.

Remote working has had a positive impact on IT security

Many organizations had strong IT security systems in place before the pandemic. We asked respondents to consider the change in focus on IT security: have they witnessed an adjustment in security since remote working became the norm prior to the global pandemic? The majority of respondents believe that their organization’s security procedures were strong prior to the pandemic and remained that way throughout lockdown.

STATEMENT: There were good IT security systems in place before the pandemic

STATEMENT: There were strong IT security systems in place for core processes and applications prior to the pandemic

“It was the sudden scale of remote working that posed a challenge to us” - Respondent

Furthermore, respondents feel their workplace has improved IT security for core systems and processes since their workforce became remote.

STATEMENT: There were good IT security systems in place across the entire organization

STATEMENT: There were good IT security systems for core processes or applications in my workplace

“All our focus is now on remote working and more measures are in the pipeline.” - Respondent

Almost 70% of respondents agree that their organization’s approach to cyber security has improved since the start of the pandemic. We can therefore conclude that the pandemic, and resulting shift to remote working, has had a positive effect on IT security across the majority of sectors.

STATEMENT: Our cybersecurity has improved since the pandemic

Remote working resources

Over 70% of workers utilize their own resources to operate remotely. With personal devices a very real security threat for businesses, and a significant lack of ‘bring your own device’ policies in place to log the use of personal items, this number is surprisingly high.

What resources do employees use to work remotely?

What resources does your employer provide for remote working?

Resources provided by employers tend to primarily be laptops and a VPN to enable a secure connection with the corporate network. Only 21% of respondents received security software for their personal devices from their employer; for respondents in business services (20%) and government institutions (17%), the distribution of security software for personal devices was more prevalent.

New resources to counter modern challenges

New challenges call for the deployment of innovative tools. The resources most frequently introduced by employers are, according to our respondents, antivirus software, access control, and backups. However, a remote working culture necessitates a shift in security protocols. Our survey found that employers have also implemented endpoint protection, awareness campaigns, and remote working policies.

Security awareness is an integral aspect of data security. Furthermore, with employees working outside of the office environment, organizations have increased the use of secure outbound communication technologies. Technology alone is not a security silver bullet. Organizations have found that a combined approach, with security awareness training embedded as a core function within secure communications software, instils best practice, ensuring employees have the skills and knowledge required to handle data correctly.

Security challenges for a remote workforce

With employees spread far and wide, we asked respondents about the challenges they experience concerning outbound and/or internal communications, remote working, and data security. More than 46% of respondents referred to concerns regarding an ‘increase in email traffic, including sensitive data’. Additionally, as many as 44% stated that phishing activities are more difficult to prevent across a remote workforce; the ability to avoid social engineering attacks was also frequently mentioned. Employee awareness plays a decisive role here.

Current and future challenges concerning communication security

We asked respondents to consider the challenges they expect to encounter in the near future on the matter of communication security and remote working. More than 74% of respondents referred to the ‘prevention of data breaches’ and 72% raised ‘security awareness among employees’ as an ongoing challenge. Also frequently mentioned were both usability and reputational damage.