Half of Businesses Say Remote Work Pays Off, But Security Is Becoming a Major Concern

• Nearly a quarter of organizations worry about security risks introduced by users working from home
• Only 27% reported full or complete visibility into user activity
• Users are mixing personal and corporate use on their work laptops and are more susceptible to phishing attacks at home

Half of US companies will continue to support work-from-home capabilities due to increased productivity and business benefit, new research finds. Organizations now prioritize human-centric visibility into remote employee activity, followed by improved network analytics, and next-generation anti-virus and endpoint detection and response.

A study conducted by Cybersecurity Insider for DTEX Systems shows the biggest security concerns facing businesses today are data leaks through endpoints, loss of visibility into user activity, maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements, access from outside the perimeter, and remote access to core business apps such as email and collaboration.

A survey of 513 US IT and cybersecurity professionals in October identifies enterprise adoption trends, challenges, gaps, investment trends and solution preferences to secure remote workforces in the wake of COVID-19.

From technical executives to IT security specialists, the respondents represent a cross-section of organizations of varying sizes across multiple industries, strengthening the notion that businesses in every vertical must align themselves to a new, holistic approach to cybersecurity.

30% of companies surveyed were fully prepared to secure and support a complete shift to a remote workforce. 50% said they will continue to support work-from-home capabilities due to increased productivity and business benefit.

But the security implications of a predominantly remote workforce are a major concern for those surveyed. Nearly a quarter of organizations worry about the security risks introduced by users working from home, with respondents saying they have only partial or no visibility into user activity if their VPN is disabled by remote workers. Only 27% reported full or complete visibility into user activity.

Worse still, users are mixing personal and corporate use on their work laptops and are more susceptible to phishing attacks at home, according to a finding echoed in Bitdefender’s own research from May.

These concerns have prompted decision makers to prioritize human-centric visibility into remote employee activity, the researchers found. Companies are also investing in improved network analytics and next-generation anti-virus and endpoint detection and response, according to the research.