According to the results of a global research study of 1580 respondents across 11 countries found that there is a global trend of employees ignoring cyber risks while at work. The survey found that universally, workers visit inappropriate websites while at work, despite typically being fully aware of the risks to their companies.
Whilst globally, 6% of respondents admitted viewing adult content on work devices, the UK ranked higher, with nearly one in ten (9%) employees admitting to viewing adult content at work, compared to France and Germany at 5% and 2% respectively.
Blue Coat’s research, conducted by independent research firm Vanson Bourne, found the actions of employees at odds with their awareness of the growing cyber threats facing the workplace. One out of five UK employees open email attachments from people they don’t know even though 78% know it is a risk to the business. French and German counterparts believe email attachments are less risky and they opened less unsolicited emails.
“The dichotomy between the awareness and actions of the employees found in this research should trouble businesses all over the world. While IT professionals seek to prevent cyber-attacks occurring, their colleagues’ behavior is jeopardising employers’ cyber security and ultimately their jobs,” said Robert Arandjelovic, director of products for Blue Coat, EMEA. “The consumerisation of IT and social media carry mixed blessings to enterprises. It is no longer feasible to prevent employees from using them, so businesses need to find ways to support these technology choices while simultaneously mitigating the security risks.”
Other findings included one-third of UK respondents used new applications without IT’s permission, compared to 27 percent in Germany and just 16 percent in France.
