Businesses must focus on security as employees go back to the office

Consumers aren't paying attention to major cybersecurity attacks threatening operational technology and critical infrastructure, indicating that businesses must focus on security as employees return to the office.

A survey of over 2,000 people from across the US by asset visibility and security platform Armis reveals that over 21 percent of respondents haven't even heard about the cyberattack on the largest US fuel pipeline, and almost half (45 percent) of working Americans didn't hear about the attempt to tamper with Florida’s water supply.

"The attacks on our critical infrastructure are clear evidence of the need for cybersecurity and assurance to all our utility providers and players," says Curtis Simpson, CISO at Armis. "It is also an unfortunate example of the huge vulnerability of an aging infrastructure that has been connected, directly or indirectly, to the internet. Organizations must be able to track behavior, identify threats, and immediately take action to protect the safety and security of their operations. This data shows that there is less consumer attention on these attacks as we might expect, and so that responsibility falls to businesses to shore up their defenses."

As staff go back to old ways of working, businesses need to be thinking about overall enterprise security, especially as employees have expressed their intention to continue in some potentially risky habits. The data shows that over 71 percent of employees intend to bring their WFH devices back to the office, with over 82 percent of that group being IT professionals, whose main job function is to ensure the security of the organization. Despite the risks, 54 percent don't believe their personal devices pose any security threat to their organization.

You can find out more on the Armis blog.

Image Credit: Manczurov / Shutterstock