Office workers have no idea about cyber risks
61% of all office workers are unaware of the threat posed by "ransomware" - such as criminal crypto software or extortion Trojans. As a result, employees are putting their companies at increasing risk from digital attacks.
More than 1,000 office employees participated in a survey conducted by Avecto participated. The aim was to assess the extent to which employees are aware of the dangers in their work area. But also how well they are basically familiar with safety issues.
58% are regularly informed about hazards
39% of respondents said they were not convinced that their employer had taken measures to protect against cyberattacks. Or they did not know what measures their employer was taking to ensure online security.
58% of respondents reported that their employer regularly informed them about new threats from cyberspace. However, a quarter said there was rarely security training. Often, the training was only offered after a security incident had occurred.
Ransomware has become widespread in recent years. Meanwhile, the attacks are having a serious impact on the business world, as Avecto writes. According to reports, there are 4000 ransomware attacks every day (1). According to statistics, 43% of ransomware victims are employees in a company (3).
Prevention is better than cure
Paul Kenyon, co-CEO at Avecto, sees the survey results as a wake-up call for the business community:
"Employees are simultaneously a company's greatest resource and its greatest risk. Ransomware is a very real threat to businesses. We need to do everything we can to inform employees about possible attacks from the Internet. After all, employees should know the dangers posed by the business applications they use every day. It is true that prevention is better than cure. Because to defend against these dangers, it is essential to use proactive security measures and not just clean up after an attack every time.
A good security concept is built on solid endpoint protection. We see that this is the area where there are deficiencies in many organizations. Those responsible must first get the security systems fundamentally right. Then, they should constantly keep employees up to date on potential threats and attacks. These are the foundations of defense. Cybersecurity is a community effort, and we need to work together to counter cybercriminals."
For more information on ransomware and its defenses, see Avecto's Ransomware Uncovered.
Source: Avecto
