CyberArk State of Remote Work Study: Poor Security Habits Raise Questions About the Future of Remote Work

Rhea-AI Summary

CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR) released a study indicating that most remote workers feel more productive at home and wish to continue this work style post-pandemic. Despite these preferences, poor security practices present significant risks for businesses considering remote work's long-term viability. Key findings include: 78% of employees faced tech issues, 67% circumvent security policies, and 82% reused passwords. The survey highlights a growing need for organizations to reinforce security measures as 54% of respondents received remote-work security training.

Positive

• Majority of employees feel more productive working remotely.
• Indication that employees wish to continue remote work post-pandemic.

Negative

• 78% experienced technology issues connecting to corporate systems.
• 67% admitted to workarounds for corporate security policies.
• 82% of remote workers reused passwords, increasing security risks.

A new remote workforce study from CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR) found that the majority of employees feel more productive at home and want to continue remote work, even after it’s deemed safe to return to offices. However, poor security practices could force businesses to reconsider the long-term viability of remote work.

CyberArk State of Remote Work Survey, Q4 2020 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Remote Work Challenges: Family Disruptions and Zoom Fatigue

As the pandemic forced more of our in-person lives into virtual environments, remote workers have had to overcome several challenges to balance their work and personal lives.

• 78% admitted to having technology issues with connecting to corporate systems and resources cited as the biggest hurdle.
• 45% of remote employees cite disruption from family and pets as the biggest challenge of remote work, followed by balancing work and personal life (43%) and ‘Zoom fatigue’ (34%).
• Despite these challenges, employees also recognize the distinct benefits of remote work – including saving time on commuting (32%), being able run errands (24%) and catch up on household chores between meetings (23%).

Balancing Security, Productivity and Convenience

Sixty-seven percent admit to finding workarounds to corporate security policies in order to be more productive including sending work documents to personal email addresses, sharing passwords, and installing rogue applications. However poor security habits go far beyond sidestepping a policy or two and more education is not changing these behaviors. Over half (54%) of the employees surveyed said they had received remote-work specific security training, yet:

• 69% of respondents admit to using corporate devices for personal use.
• 57% of all remote workers admit that they allow other members of their household to use their corporate devices for activities like schoolwork, gaming and shopping - a 185% increase from a similar survey conducted in the spring.
• 82% of all remote workers admit to reusing passwords -- a 12% increase from the spring.

“The global pandemic has been the largest test yet for the future of distributed work. Working people have proven incredibly resilient as they rise to the challenge and overcome the stress and significant obstacles of blending home and work lives,” said Matt Cohen, chief operating officer, CyberArk. “As we continue to adapt to this new way of operating, it’s the responsibility of both employees and organizations to take responsibility of corporate security. Organizations should continually reinforce best practices and implement user-friendly tools and policies while employees need to understand and be receptive to those policies.”

About the Survey

The CyberArk State of Remote Work Survey was conducted in October 2020 by an independent research agency. The study included responses from 2,000 remote office workers in the United States, UK, France and Germany.

About CyberArk

CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR) is the global leader in privileged access management, a critical layer of IT security to protect data, infrastructure and assets across cloud and hybrid environments and throughout the DevOps pipeline. CyberArk delivers the industry’s most complete solution to reduce risk created by privileged credentials and secrets. The company is trusted by the world’s leading organizations, including more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500, to protect against external attackers and malicious insiders. A global company, CyberArk is headquartered in Petach Tikva, Israel, with U.S. headquarters located in Newton, Mass. The company also has offices throughout the Americas, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Japan. To learn more about CyberArk, visit https://www.cyberark.com/, read the CyberArk blogs or follow on Twitter via @CyberArk, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Copyright © 2020 CyberArk Software. All Rights Reserved. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201215005368/en/

FAQ

What are the key findings from CyberArk's remote workforce study?

The study found that most remote employees feel more productive and wish to continue working from home; however, significant security risks were identified.

What percentage of employees reported technology issues while working remotely?

78% of remote workers reported having technology issues connecting to corporate systems.

How does CyberArk's study highlight security concerns?

The study revealed that 67% of employees circumvented security policies and 82% reused passwords, posing serious risks to corporate security.

What is the survey's implication for businesses considering remote work?

Businesses may need to reconsider the long-term viability of remote work due to identified security risks among employees.