Companies of all sizes are exposed to cybersecurity risks, especially with the digitalisation of working methods.
Telework, a source of attractiveness for companies
If teleworking facilitates the daily life of employees, it has also become a real advantage, highlighted in the recruitment process. According to this survey, 75% of the employees interviewed consider work hybridisation as a real competitive advantage for the company. Many of them would even be ready to leave their company if it did not offer telework.
In 2021, according to a Dares survey, more than 4,000 telework agreements were signed, ten times more than in 2017. This working method is no longer reserved for large organisations. Indeed, in the same survey, we learn that two thirds of the agreements signed were in companies with less than 300 employees, and 21% in companies with less than 50 employees.
The generalisation of telework will therefore continue and companies will have to be even more vigilant about protecting their data.
Cyber threats amplified by remote working
Between 2016 and 2020, the Ministry of the Interior in France observed an increase of more than 31% in ransomware attacks: cyberattacks that hold companies’ information systems hostage in exchange for money. The ANSSI indicates that the number of proven intrusions into information systems has increased by 37% in 2021. A growing threat to the cybersecurity of companies.
But other cybersecurity risks are amplified by teleworking, such as working with one’s personal computer. 20% of teleworkers are concerned (according to a Canon study). However, this practice is widely discouraged since, unlike the professional device, the employee’s device has not undergone the necessary security checks. In the event of an intrusion, the company’s entire information system could be compromised.
Protecting personal data
In addition to raising staff awareness and securing teleworking equipment, it is also important to ensure that the data itself is protected. Videocollaboration tools are the first vectors of sensitive and personal data: names and surnames of employees, meeting titles, confidential files, etc. Cybercriminals make them a prime target when it comes to accessing information about the company and its activity.
The policy on the management and processing of personal data from these tools is therefore an essential element to be taken into account in the cybersecurity strategy.
