Cyber security is paradoxically perceived as an obstacle for those who work remotely. That’s the conclusion the new report comes to HP Wolf “Security Rebellions and Rejections” which combined data from a global online survey of YouGov on 8,443 employees who switched to smart working during the pandemic and a global survey of 1,100 IT decision makers, conducted by Toluna. The findings show that attempts by security teams to augment or update security measures for remote workers have often been rejected. The biggest problems came from young people aged between 18 and 24. According to the survey, these “digital natives” are becoming increasingly frustrated by security slowing down work, leading many to evade controls.
In fact, 76% of IT teams revealed that security took a back seat to business continuity during the Covid 19 pandemic, while 91% felt the pressure of having to compromise security for business continuity. Nearly half (48%) of the youngest (18-24 year olds) employees surveyed saw safety tools as an obstacle, leading nearly a third (31%) to try to bypass company safety policies to do their jobs .
Almost half (48%) of the employees confirmed that apparently essential security measures involve a great waste of time. The number is growing to 64% among people aged 18 to 24. Over half (54%) of young people are more concerned with meeting deadlines than exposing their organization to one data breach, while 39% are unsure about the rules relating to security policies. Or he doesn’t even know if their company has them or not. As a result, 83% of IT teams agreed that the increase in home workers created a “time bomb” that could lead to a breach of the corporate network.
The report also points out that many security teams have made efforts to stem user behavior and to maintain data safe. In fact, the survey reveals that 91% IT teams have updated their security policies to take into account the increase in work from home, while 78% have restricted access to websites and applications.
Not only that, more than a third (37%) of the employees surveyed said that security policies and technologies are often too restrictive. The majority (80%) of IT teams have experienced pushbacks from users who don’t like controls being enforced even when working from home. According to 83% of IT teams, enforcing corporate cybersecurity policies is impossible now that the lines between personal and professional life are so thin. Finally, 80% of IT teams admitted that cyber security is becoming a “thankless task” because no one listens to them and 69% of them said they feel like the “bad guys” for imposing restrictions.