Trend Micro, a leader in cloud security, has released survey results that show smart home devices and their apps represent a major weak link in the corporate cybersecurity chain as the lines between work and home life increasingly blur.
Trend Micro’s Head in the Clouds study surveyed more than 13,000 remote workers across 27 countries to find out more about the habits of distributed workforces during the pandemic. It revealed that 39% of workers use personal devices to access corporate data, often via services and applications hosted in the cloud. These personal smartphones, tablets and laptops may be less secure than corporate equivalents and exposed to vulnerable IoT apps and gadgets on the home network. More than one third (36%) of remote workers surveyed do not have basic password protection on all personal devices, for example.
Dr Linda K. Kaye, a Cyberpsychology Expert said: “The fact that so many remote workers use personal devices for accessing corporate data and services suggests that there may be a lack of awareness about the security risks associated with this. Tailored cybersecurity training which recognises the diversity of different users and their levels of awareness and attitudes around risks would be beneficial to help mitigate any security threats which may derive from these issues.”
