An IDSA study found that 79% of enterprises have suffered an identity-related breach. At ManageEngine, we understand how important identities are to the overall security posture of an organization. That’s why this Identity Security Week, we’re offering a series of blogs to spread awareness about the importance of identity security and what simple measures can help improve the security of your organization. Let’s kick off the series with a trending topic—remote work.

During the pandemic, approximately 60% of full-time and part-time employees in the U.S. worked remotely. Firms weren’t ready for their employees to work remotely, but many employers quickly realized the benefits of remote work. As remote work became more common, the number of cyber criminals increased drastically. IT professionals have never been more cautious with their work security.

There are many arguments on either side of remote work, including whether it impacts an organization’s cybersecurity posture. While most people perceive risks to be higher while people are working from home, this is generally driven by a fear of the unknown. In reality, while some risk factors have changed in some cases, risk is often reduced in a remote working scenario.

Working and collaborating remotely is easier than ever in today’s digital age. As a result, the number of vendors engaging with businesses to execute job assignments has increased dramatically. People working remotely as independent contractors range from software engineers to copywriters. Because these folks will not be going into the office, Identity Verification is now an essential element of the Vendor Onboarding process. Why?

With a growing number of organizations offering a remote or hybrid working option, many people are taking their workspaces home. Your team needs to know password hygiene best practices to ensure their home work environment is secure and protected. Sloppy employees who are not knowledgeable about password hygiene can pose a risk to themselves and their company. In fact, 82% of breaches involved a human element, according to Verizon’s 2022 DBIR.

Remote work is not going away. Depending on who you ask, experts believe 35% – 65% of the US workforce will continue to work remotely, permanently. Remote work was a trend that began well before the pandemic and will continue to be the preferred way to work for companies and employees alike. However, many companies were unprepared for the speed at which remote work became the preferred office structure. The pandemic forced businesses to adopt new tools and processes virtually overnight.

Don't bring your personal life into the office; don't bring your work stuff home — these were already difficult tasks prior to the 2020 pandemic. Now, with hybrid work settling in, they have become nearly impossible to achieve. Where we work is no longer tethered to a static location. From the Wi-Fi we connect to, to the devices we use for work, our personal and professional lives are now closely intertwined.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a seismic shift in remote working practices. Before the pandemic, 34% of US employees worked remotely at least one day a week. Now, as we emerge from the pandemic, 35% of Americans work from home full-time — with a further 23% able to work remotely part-time. This equates to approximately 92 million remote workers in the US alone. But this rise in remote working is causing significant corporate cybersecurity issues.

Perhaps someone doesn’t answer a Slack message as quickly as they should, or they have long hours blocked on their calendar. Maybe someone doesn’t seem motivated during team meetings or they are slow to complete work. While research has shown that overall, productivity has actually increased as a result of the work-from-home movement, managers know all too well what it’s like to be suspicious that someone is taking advantage of their new work arrangement.

Remote work has become popular among employees. 74% of workers say they would be less inclined to leave a company if they could work from home. No commuting, better work-life balance, greater flexibility, and increased motivation attract employees to telecommuting. Although companies offer remote work, data security concerns them. Employees might use unsecured wifi networks, leave their computers and laptops unattended, or carry confidential documents to public locations.