Managing cyber threats when working remotely | A Customer Survey Report

Managing cyber threats when working remotely | A Customer Survey Report

The nearly universal adoption of remote work has changed the way businesses function. Globally, enterprises continue to work to find new ways to make life easier for employees working remotely. However, a commonly cited concern has been the lack of cybersecurity measures when working outside the office premises. To learn more about this, we surveyed over 200 customers globally, and here's what we learned from them. 
 
Employee uncertainty about security measures
More than 1 in 4 people are either unaware of the security measures adopted by their company or feel their organization does not have enough tools to manage remote work securely. Additionally, over 53% of users state their companies have not implemented any new security measures to combat cyber threats. This is often attributed to either lack of budget (due to financial impact), knowledge and time to implement security measures, or inadequate resources.  


 
Countermeasures to combat threats
Our survey found many businesses had to change their security policies when switching to remote work, as less than 9% of respondents had cybersecurity measures in place or predominantly operated remotely before the pandemic set in. Some of the measures implemented by businesses to combat threats involved with remote work were:

  1. Enforcing multi-factor authentication
  2. IP filtering and mandating the use of VPN 
  3. Mobile device management solutions to secure company assets
  4. Implementing security information and event management (SIEM) tools to get a holistic picture of business threats
  5. Advanced endpoint protection   
  6. Fine-grained password management and user access control



Increasing dependency on cloud apps
About 1 in 3 people stated that they used anywhere between 25 and 100 apps to perform personal and business tasks, with almost 5% using more than 100 apps every week. This can be seen as a direct result of the increased demand for cloud applications to make remote work possible, along with the necessity of contactless living. 


 

Password managers making lives easier
About 2 in 3 respondents stated that using a password manager like Zoho Vault helped them streamline password management activities and curb password-based threats when working remotely. Some of the key reasons highlighted by the users were:
 
  1. Ability to save all passwords and sensitive documents in one secure place
  2. Cross-platform sync and offline access
  3. Easy transition from on-premise to cloud
  4. Safe password sharing with colleagues and third parties
  5. 24/7 access to business passwords, despite working across different time zones
  6. Passwordless authentication using SSO
  7. Extensive integrations with Zoho apps and third parties




What do we recommend?
As enterprises continue to work remotely, it's never too late to implement cybersecurity best practices. You can start small based on your organization's size, activities, and potential threats. If you're looking for a starting point, adopting passwordless authentication can help your business in the long run. A cost-effective solution like Zoho Vault couples passwordless SSO with password management, saving you time, effort, and some money on your annual budget.



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