Businesses must invest more in cyber security for remote workers: Theta Global Advisors

Businesses should invest in upgrading their cyber security protection for remote workers, even if they expect to have people back in the office relatively soon, according to Chris Biggs, a partner at Theta Global Advisors, a UK based accounting and consultancy company.

More than half (57 percent) of IT decision makers believe that remote workers could expose their firm to the risk of a data breach, according to research cited by Theta Global Advisors.

The number of reported cases of cyber attacks has increased markedly since COVID-19 forced more people to work remotely. Despite this, research from Theta Global Advisors shows that more than a quarter (26 percent) of workers have not been given appropriate training on how to perform their job during lockdown.

“It is easy to assume that remote working is only temporary but investing in this increased security will be of huge use going forward and will pay off in the long-term as home working looks set to stay,” said Biggs.

He highlighted the specific challenge of how to transfer office-based and security sensitive work to home office environments.

“Remote working is far more complex for most companies than simply taking home a laptop or desktop and getting on with it,” said Biggs. “Most firms will need specific systems and cloud-based solutions tailored to their needs to make sure that it is done in a secure way.”