Privacy and security concerns increase with remote work

Two new global studies from network specialist Cisco reveal an increase in consumer concern about data sharing during the pandemic and the security challenges organizations face supporting employees and customers in our remote-first world.

The reports also highlight the opportunities presented by the accelerated transition to a cloud-first, remote world that demands us to be secure, connected and productive from anywhere.

Among the findings of the Future of Secure Remote Work Report are that 85 percent of organizations believe that cybersecurity is extremely important or more important than it was before COVID-19. Secure access is the top cybersecurity challenge faced by the largest proportion of organizations (62 percent) when supporting remote workers.

One in two respondents say that endpoints, including corporate laptops (56 percent) and personal devices (54 percent), are a challenge to protect in a remote environment. On a positive note 66 percent of respondents indicate that the COVID-19 situation will result in an increase in cybersecurity investments.

"Security and privacy are among the most significant social and economic issues of our lifetime," says Jeetu Patel, SVP and GM of Cisco's Security and Applications business. "Cybersecurity historically has been overly complex. With this new way of working here to stay and organizations looking to increase their investment in cybersecurity, there's a unique opportunity to transform the way we approach security as an industry to better meet the needs of our customers and end-users."

Meanwhile Cisco's second annual Consumer Privacy Survey reveals that 60 percent of respondents are concerned about the privacy of remote collaboration tools. 53 percent want privacy laws maintained, with little or no exception for pandemic-related data.

There is clearly concern about how data is being used, 48 percent feel they are unable to effectively protect their data today, the main reason given is that they can't figure out what companies are doing with their data. Governments should play the primary role in protecting consumer data according to 56 percent and consumers around the world are highly supportive of the privacy laws being enacted in their countries.

"Privacy is much more than just a compliance obligation. It is a fundamental human right and business imperative that is critical to building and maintaining customer trust," says Harvey Jang, VP, chief privacy officer at Cisco. "The core privacy and ethical principles of transparency, fairness, and accountability will guide us in this new, digital-first world."

Both the Future of Secure Remote Work Report and the Consumer Privacy Survey are available from the Cisco site.

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