When employees acknowledge that they do not always follow the rules

"The big challenge with telecommuting is to separate the work environment from that of the staff. ": says Baptiste Robert about telecommuting.

A large part of the employees who work remotely today have clearly recognized taking "telework shortcuts" at times. One of the reasons that might explain why we should let go and this lack of discipline under certain conditions is this explanation given by Baptiste Robert, an expert in cybersecurity.

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The domestic environment greatly influences the concentration and compliance with the rules necessary for optimal cybersecurity of proper work. As a result, with the distraction constantly present in the home, and the stress of having to return work at a specific time frame often pushes the teleworker, to bypass certain safety measures. So to speak, all the ingredients are put together to facilitate this failure. "Half of employees take cybersecurity shortcuts when working from home, which could expose their organizations to cyberattacks or data breaches. It journalist Danny Palmer wrote.

Since coronavirus became a pandemic, many upheavals have been observed in several sectors. The professional field has not escaped this. Because, the cause of the various containment measures, a direct consequence of the pandemic, many companies had to switch to telework. A transition that has often not complied with the essential security rules to protect companies' IT systems in the long term. As a direct consequence, employees who work remotely take too many risks when they are online. Much more than when they were still in the office. This is understandable by the fact that in a professional environment, the IT security team watches over the grain, which is unfortunately lacking during telework.

Computer security specialists at Tessian, a provider of cybersecurity solutions, conducted a study on the issue. In the report of this analysis entitled "The State of Data Loss Report", it was revealed that 52% of remote workers tend to believe that they fear nothing when they take some freedom at home, than the use of common software, often insecure to share confidential files, instead of thinking about using more reliable and professional means. However, Tessian researchers found that employees did not do so deliberately. But they were rather distracted by the domestic environment in which they are forced to work.

The researchers' report highlights 4 main reasons for this lack of discipline.

1- The devices used are usually apartment terminals to employees who used to use them in personal situations. That's why it's so hard for them not to use their device to visit social networks, download apps or videos, or any other actions that may expose them to cyber criminals. Exposure that could have been avoided or reduced in some cases had provided work equipment.

2- Freedom outside the company is one of the reasons to be mentioned. In fact, telecommuting employees are less controlled by the company's security teams. Not feeling watched clearly favours some let go.

3- Domestic distractions greatly influence compliance with security. This may be the same technical organization of work, childcare, social interactions with neighbors, roommates or the family as a whole.

4- Pressure. Several employees reported being under pressure during telework. In order to turn effectively and carry out their tasks, they felt that the security policy imposed on them often presents obstacles that slow down their performance. Tim Salder, President and CEO of the cybersecurity firm, observed: "People will save money on best security practices when working remotely and find workarounds if security policies disrupt their productivity in these new working conditions." However an outline of me in the effects can prove disastrous in the medium and long term. "It only takes a misdirected email, a poorly stored data file or a weak password for a company to face a serious data breach," Salder said.

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