Many Remote Workers Are Using A Faulty Device To Avoid Getting Into Trouble

Welcome to another week of The Yada Yada!

A new report has discovered that 67% of remote workers are using a faulty device when they work remotely.

Many employees don't want to admit that they have damaged their company's technology, fearing punishment from their higher-ups.

2,500 employees were surveyed by a company that sells refurbished technology. They found that laptops were the most likely to be broken, followed by keyboards, monitors, and PCs.

The most common cause of the technology damage was spilled food and/or drinks. Other causes of damage included other people in the house – such as kids or partners – and of course, pets.

We’ve all watched in horror as a dog comes running into the room and knocks over the glass of water next to the laptop, or kids come jumping up for a hug and spill the coffee out of the mug someone was holding all over the keyboard, or two young boys were having a wrestling match with disregard for everyone around them 😋. (Been there, done that.. grrr.....)

A third of workers switch to their personal devices instead of using their faulty devices while 81% of others continue to use their faulty devices with limited features and over half trying to fix the damage. 

Not only is this causing a loss of productivity, but it could also be a huge data security risk for your business.

This is largely in part that their personal laptop doesn’t have as much security protection as their work laptop does, such as:

· Security software

· Data encryption

· Enhanced password protection such as multi-factor authentication

Their personal devices also aren’t being monitored by your IT company.

If an attacker gains access to an unmanaged device, they can potentially get access to the wider network and all of your business’s data.

This can result in your data being stolen and sold. Or worse, your data being encrypted so it’s useless to you – and you must pay for its return. This is called a ransomware attack and it’s the greatest cyber security threat to your business right now. After a ransomware attack, there is often a lot of work involved in making sure the network is clean, protected, and secure.

We strongly recommend that everyone in your business understands the higher risks involved with using personal devices for work purposes, whether they work remotely or not.

At Rivercity Tech, we highly encourage that all work-related information/emailing/sharing is to be done on business devices that are managed by your IT company, so it also can include proper security.

Until next time, keep fit and have fun!

(TYYV) The Yada Yada Version:

Two-thirds of remote workers have faulty work devices and end up switching to personal devices. Yada yada yada, their personal devices get a ransomware attack and bye-bye business data. It's time to make sure business data stays on business devices.