Security News > 2021 > February > What do users and IT have in common? They're both to blame for poor remote security practices
One in four remote workers reuses work credentials on consumer sites, but IT isn't doing them any favors by reportedly failing to provide essential protection while away from the office.
Remote work has proliferated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but nearly a year in cybersecurity hasn't caught up, leaving businesses incredibly vulnerable.
Ivanti's 2021 Secure Consumer Cyber Report surveyed 2,000 remote workers in the U.S. and U.K. in November 2020, and while all survey respondents said they were using company-owned hardware they still reported taking risks that could lead to major security breaches.
Remote workers aren't solely to blame for the poor state of pandemic-related security: Businesses aren't doing their part to provide their workers with the tools they need to be secure, respondents said.
Twenty-eight percent said they "Were not required to have specific security software running on their devices to access certain applications while working remotely," and 24% said their organization doesn't require regular six-month password updates or the use of one-time password generators.
This leads to the inevitable question of what businesses can do to protect themselves when remote work is likely to be the new normal and bad habits among users aren't likely to go away.