Large proportion of remote users access their networks without any for form of authentication

(09/09/2010)

According to a GrIDsure remote working survey of UK employees, 46% of respondents were planning to work remotely at some point over the summer. The survey of 102 business professionals who use computers as part of their job also showed that over two thirds (68%) of workers considered remote working to be a strong factor in enjoying or choosing their job, with 28% stating that it would be important if the technology was easy to use.

The survey results revealed that that:
* Prevalence of remote working – 46% of business professionals worked remotely this summer, with a further 15% with suitable jobs wishing to, but prevented by their employer. 4% of professionals were working remotely this summer for the first time
* Important for job satisfaction – 68% of business professionals considered remote working to be a strong factor for enjoying or choosing their job, with 28% stating that it would be important if the technology was easy to use
* Technology issues with remote working – the main difficulties with remote working cited were problems with network speeds (26%) and concerns around work data being stolen (16%). 9% of respondents found it difficult to login to their PC because of problems with their password or smart-token
* Remote working security – 44% of business professionals connected to their office network using a business computer while 27% rely on their own computers , of which 18.5% did not have any form of network login
* Remote working locations – The majority of remote workers were most likely to choose to work from home (57%), with 6% working on holiday and a further 6% working on trains

Stephen Howes, CEO, GrIDsure added: “The uptake of remote working in the UK has skyrocketed in recent years as the demand for flexible job roles has increased and the enabling technology has become more readily available. However, all too often remote working is associated with concerns around security and difficulties in logging onto remote networks. Not only can this be frustrating for the end user, but it also puts unnecessary strain on the IT helpdesk.

"As employees choose remote working locations outside of their home security becomes even more crucial, yet it is worrying to see such a large proportion of users accessing their networks without any for form of authentication. This is especially concerning in instances where staff are using a personal computer that don't have any form of network login to authenticate themselves - imagine what some of them might be inadvertently uploading to their company servers!"

Related topics:  Authentication and identity management   Data management and data security   Internet and Web security   Mobile and Wireless Security   Network Security 

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