American cybersecurity firm, PC Matic, announced the release of its second annual report analyzing trends between cybersecurity and employees who are working from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
A follow up to research released by the firm in May 2020, the eleven-page report bears the name COVID-19: Cybersecurity in the Remote Workforce and presents the results of a nationally distributed survey by which nearly 6,000 individuals responded. The findings, gathered in March 2021, indicate that nearly one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 35% of Americans are still working from home. This, all while ransomware attacks, many of which were successfully executed by targeting remote workers, saw a near 435% increase last year.
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Key findings from the report are as follows:
- Nearly half of employers continue to fall short on providing remote workers with technical assistance. In 2020, 47% of respondents indicated they were not receiving technical assistance from their employer. In 2021, this number ticked up slightly to 49% of remote workers responding that they were not receiving technical assistance from their employer.
- Six of every ten remote workers are using a personal device for work purposes. Nearly 62% of remote workers in both 2020 and 2021 indicated that their employer didn’t issue a device (computer, tablet, etc.) for work purposes, and instead required they use their personal devices.
- Less than ten percent of respondents were provided an antivirus software solution for the personal device they use for work purposes. In 2020, 7% of respondents who use their personal devices for work purposes responded that their employer provided them with an antivirus solution. In 2021, 9% responded in the same manner.
“Work from home is here to stay,” said Rob Cheng, CEO and Founder of PC Matic. “As threat-actors continue to target remote workers, and as the number of ransomware attacks continues to surge, it is imperative that employers take these threats seriously. The time is now to educate employees of the risks and to invest in proactive solutions designed to thwart these modern-day threats.”
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