The hidden (and a little alarming) working habits of European office workers are putting their companies at serious cybersecurity risk, according to new insights from 11,000 employees.
The study from Sharp Europe found that two-thirds of employees are engaging in risky tech behaviours at work that they would rather keep hidden from their bosses, despite the majority (84%) of workers being more concerned about cybersecurity than they were a year ago.
Commissioned by Sharp Europe, the survey highlights the growing disconnect between increasing cybersecurity awareness and employees’ daily actions and how new tech is impacting this. The research found that 43% of office workers cited artificial intelligence (AI) as the main reason driving this increased concern.
Top five ranked secret working habits were as follows:
- Logging into unsecured Wi-Fi networks using company devices
- Failure to log out of work accounts at night
- Failure to regularly update laptops
- Downloading unauthorised software onto work laptops
- Visiting or trying to download content from dubious external sources
Sharp’s survey also shows that companies are particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks on Friday afternoons, as one in five admit that they are most likely to make a cybersecurity mistake at the end of the working week. Meanwhile, over a third blame stress due to a heavy workload increasing the chance of making a mistake. It is no wonder that human error is the cause of 95% of cybersecurity breaches.
Despite the growing concern for cybersecurity, many employees still don’t think it’s their responsibility to keep the business secure. In fact, 21% of workers believe their company’s IT department should handle everything related to cybersecurity – and 8% even said they wouldn’t care if their company was hacked.
Roland Singer, Vice President of IT Services, Sharp Europe, said: “Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting company data – it’s about protecting the people behind that data. Our findings show that workers play a critical role in safeguarding company security, and businesses must empower them with the right tools and training to effectively reduce these risks.”
Sharp’s research suggests that workers may need a little extra encouragement to keep cybersecurity top of mind while at work, especially when the weekend is in sight, or their workload is heavy. As of 2024, the global average cost of a data breach is $4.88 million (€4.44 million) – a 10% increase over last year and the highest total ever.
With the stakes higher than ever, companies need to ensure their teams have the right resources and knowledge to keep their digital worlds safe.
Further insights and advice on security preparedness for small and medium sized businesses can be found here.
