Understanding Remote Worker Security: A Survey of User Awareness vs. Behavior
Source: Cisco Systems
To study remote worker behavior, Cisco Systems® commissioned InsightExpress, a third-party market research firm, to survey end users from a variety of industries. The surveys were conducted in parallel in 10 countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, India, Australia, and Brazil. More than 1,000 remote workers were surveyed. The survey revealed that most remote workers believe they are working securely, yet they continue to engage in risky online behavior.
- Online shopping: Nearly 40 percent of remote workers in the same respondent pool said they use their work computers for Internet shopping. Half said they make personal online purchases because their “company does not mind them doing so.”
- Sharing computers: 21 percent of users admitted that they allowed others to use their work computers. More than one in four stated that they “don’t see anything wrong with it.” And believed computer sharing “does not increase security risks.”
- Risky wireless behavior: One in 10 users surveyed stated that they have used a neighbor’s Internet connection when working remotely. Most stated they did so because “they were in a bind.” 18 percent stated that “my neighbor doesn’t know, so it is OK.”
- Personal devices: Almost half reported that they used their own personal devices to access corporate resources. Yet only half of those who used these devices said they had antivirus or security software on the devices.
- E-mail downloading: 10 to 20 percent of users in India and Brazil admitted to opening unknown e-mail messages and their attachments. 38 percent of users reported that they click on unknown e-mail messages but do not open attachments.
Full Report (PDF; 490 KB)
This entry was posted on Monday, October 9th, 2006 at 10:59 pm and is filed under Business and economics, Internet, Privacy, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.