Cybersecurity storm threatens the hybrid workplace

A new report from HP Wolf Security looks at how hybrid work is changing user behavior and creating a 'perfect storm' of cybersecurity challenges for IT departments.

The research shows that a growing number of users are buying and connecting unsanctioned devices without the IT team's approval. It also highlights that threat levels are rising, with attackers increasingly successful at bypassing defenses and tricking users into initiating attacks through phishing.

Of office workers surveyed, 45 percent have purchased IT equipment (such as printers and PCs) to support home working in the past year. However, 68 percent say security wasn't a major consideration in their purchasing decision, while 43 percent didn’t have their new laptop or PC checked or installed by IT, and 50 percent say the same of their new printer.

In addition 74 percent of IT teams have seen a rise in the number of employees opening malicious phishing links or attachments on emails in the last 12-months. 40 percent of office workers surveyed aged 18-to-24 have clicked on a malicious email with almost half (49 percent) saying they have done so more often since working from home.

This is no doubt linked to 79 percent of IT teams reporting that rebuild rates have increased during the pandemic. Rebuild rates relate to the number of endpoints that require wiping and reimaging because they have been compromised, which implies more attackers are successfully breaching outer defenses.

"People often don't know if they have clicked on something malicious, so the real numbers are likely much higher," says Ian Pratt, global head of security for personal systems at HP. "Threat actors don't always announce themselves, as playing the 'long game' to move laterally and infiltrate higher-value infrastructure has proven to be more lucrative. For example, by using cloud backups to exfiltrate sensitive data in bulk, encrypting data on servers, then demanding a multi-million-dollar ransom."

You can read more on the findings in the full report available from the HP site.

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