INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security
Research reveals majority of workers take cybersecurity shortcuts
Workers are engaging in risky behaviors which could put their company ’ s digital security at risk , despite knowing the dangers , a global survey of more than 8,000 employees has revealed , including over 2,500 respondents in Australia , New Zealand , Singapore , Malaysia , India and Japan .
ThycoticCentrify , a leading provider of cloud identity security solutions formed by the merger of Privileged Access Management ( PAM ) leaders Thycotic and Centrify , commissioned the independent market research specialist Sapio Research to poll workers from around the world to discover if they are following good cybersecurity practices .
The results make for concerning reading – particularly when considered in the wider context of remote or hybrid working . The survey found that 79 % of respondents have engaged in one least one risky activity over the past year ( Australia / New Zealand 83 %, Singapore / Malaysia 81 %, India 90 %, Japan 67 %). This included : a risk , only 16 % of respondents feel their organization is at a very high risk of a cybersecurity attack ( Australia / New Zealand 15 %, Singapore / Malaysia 23 %, India 22 %, Japan 35 %).
This feeling was contradicted by the 79 % of respondents who saw an increase in the number of fraudulent and phishing messages in the last year ( Australia / New Zealand 75 %, Singapore / Malaysia 89 %, India 94 %, Japan 71 %).
Joseph Carson , Chief Security Scientist and Advisory CISO at ThycoticCentrify , said : “ People working in the cybersecurity sector know how their colleagues should behave when it comes to keeping their devices safe and protecting the wider company . But are these messages getting through ?
“ We ’ d urge employers to redouble efforts to encourage the best possible digital security practices in staff and remind them of the risks of failing to secure networks . A ransomware attack or major breach has major consequences which can last for years , so every organization needs to establish security processes and work to ensure they resonate with employees .”
Just 44 % of respondents received cybersecurity training in the past year ( Australia / New Zealand 43 %, Singapore / Malaysia 54 %, India 64 %, Japan 37 %). This meant that more than half of the employees surveyed were left to cope alone with the fearsome threat landscape created by home working . Smaller organizations were the least likely to have given their staff cybersecurity training over the past year .
“ Remote or hybrid working also poses a particular challenge to security , so organizations should be sure to embed good practices in their staff no matter where they are working from ,” Carson continued .
Staff are more likely to rate the cyber-risk to their organization as high ( 55 % compared to 43 %) if they have been trained , indicating they have a better understanding of the risks . p
• 35 % who saved passwords in their browser in the last year ( Australia / New Zealand 43 %, Singapore / Malaysia 36 %, India 39 %, Japan 28 %)
• 32 % who used one password to access multiple sites ( Australia / New Zealand 42 %, Singapore / Malaysia 37 %, India 33 %, Japan 24 %), and 23 % who connected a personal device to the corporate network
• ( Australia / New Zealand 25 %, Singapore / Malaysia 29 %, India 36 %, Japan 13 %).
Despite almost all respondents ( 98 %) having an awareness that individual actions such as clicking on links from unknown sources or sharing credentials with colleagues is
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