14 DAY TRIAL // There are good and bad parts to remote working, and while some companies prefer the increase in productivity, others may not like the data overexposure due to a dilution of security protocols.
A recent survey by Imation that took into account answers from 500 IT decision makers from Germany and the UK shows that 96% of modern-day companies allow employees to work from remote locations, even if 67% say that employees are breaking security rules while left on their own.
This lapse in security protocol adherence is somewhat accepted since the same study also showed that 62% of companies also think this led to an increase in employee motivation due to the flexible work schedule, and to a rise in productivity in 61% of cases.
Despite a positive trend in attitude towards remote working, most management positions sill don't trust workers in remote jobs, and most managers worry about data losses due to misplaced devices (54%) and about data breaches or insider threats (61%).
This is to no surprise, since these companies also don't have any special policies for remote workers (41%), and there's nothing stopping employees from printing sensitive data from their mobile to paper (31%) or email files to themselves (27%).
Additionally, 42% of the surveyed companies also admitted that, in most cases, they can't keep track of what employees are doing when left on their own.
"Inadequate security, combined with the naivety surrounding the protection of corporate data, is putting organisations at risk of a data breach," said Nick Banks, vice president of Imation for EMEA and APAC, IronKey.
The survey's data has also been compiled in the infographic seen below.
