Flexible Offices Expose Companies to Security Breaches

As traditional work environments lose ground, US executives are taken off guard by the security vulnerabilities their businesses are exposed to as a result of mobility.

Increasing use of connected devices and BYOD policies turn mobile workers into a weak link in the security of a company. Employees use laptops, USBs, mobile phones and cloud storage to connect to company infrastructure from any location at any time. In spite of the trend, executives don”t provide enough training or security measures to protect company data in a mobile environment, Shred-it study shows.

“The majority of C-suite executives (92%) and just over half of small business owners (SBOs) (58%) have at least some employees using a flexible/offsite working model. Yet, only 31% of C-suite executives and 32% of SBOs said they have an information security policy for both off-site work environments and flexible working areas in place,” HelpNetSecurity says.

This is an issue particularly for smaller businesses that still need reliable strategies for data storage. Destruction of digital data is another issue companies have to improve. Especially when it comes to small businesses, 37% don”t turn to a professional destruction service, so their data is exposed when devices are sent to recycling centers, analysts say. Unlike large corporations, which destroy these devices at least four times a year, small businesses barely do it once a year, if ever.

Careless employees, a lack of training and security measures, as well as a mobile workforce and data transfer outside company infrastructure expose organizations to security breaches. To protect their network and intelligence, companies large and small need to come up with regular training and rules of conduct for all employees.