More than 40% of office workers admit they could cause a cyber security breach

Survey finds majority do not consider cyber security their personal responsibility

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Eamon Gallagher, IT.ie, and Daniel Carr, SonicWall

A new survey from IT.ie in partnership with SonicWall has found that just over half (51%) of office workers felt more vulnerable to cyberattacks than a year ago, and 43% believed they are at risk of causing a cybersecurity incident in the next 12 months

The poll of 1,000 office workers based in Ireland conducted by Censuswide uncovered a need for more cyber security training for office workers, along with a greater sense of shared responsibility for upholding cyber security standards.

The survey found that of the 43% who feel at risk of causing a breach, 60% attributed it to incomplete or non-existent cyber security training, and nearly a third (31%) blamed poor communication from management regarding cyber risks.

These feelings of being ill-prepared were reflected among the general office worker population, where 21% said they did not feel adequately trained to deal with increased cyber security threats on a day-to-day basis.

Generally, the recommended frequency for cyber security training is once per month – as long as it is aligned with a multilayered approach that includes defensive solutions such as firewalls and VPNs. However, IT.ie’s research found that just 15% of office workers received training this often and some 20%, admitted they have not received cybersecurity training in more than a year – or never. Some 42% had the opportunity to brush up on their skills every two to six months, while 23% received training every seven months to a year.

This issue of substandard training may explain why 26% of office workers did not believe cyber security is their personal responsibility. Meanwhile, more than one-in-ten (12%) office workers did not believe that their employer took cyber security seriously.

Eamon Gallagher, founder and managing director, IT.ie, said: “Our research clearly shows that employees have a growing sense of unease with regards to cyber security. In truth, they are right to fear causing a breach. The majority of cyber security incidents are caused by human error, so employees need to know that they are equipped with relevant, up-to-date know-how on reducing that risk.”

Stuart Taylor, Regional Director for Northern Europe, Sonicwall, said: “Last year, SonicWall detected 210,258 never-before-seen malware variants. Evidently, cybercriminals are evolving fast and it’s not enough to simply be aware; it’s about building a resilient, multilayered defence that combines employee training with robust security solutions. SonicWall research has shown that in doing so, organisations can avoid 68 days of potential downtime.”

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