Remote Workers are Biggest Cyber Blind Spot for SMBs
According to Nationwide's fifth annual Business Owner Survey, 83 percent of small business owners allow and offer employees the option to work securely from a remote location when needed and appropriate. With young business owners (those ranging from ages 18-34), this number jumps up to 95 percent. Yet, only 50 percent of small business owners have updated their remote work security policy in the past year. Failing to continually revise remote work policies in the growing digital workplace could put those business owners at higher risk of a cyber-attack.
Though remote employees place businesses at risk, many small business owners are not properly mitigating other potential cyberthreats, nor are they adequately protecting their employee platforms. According to the Nationwide survey, only four percent of business owners have implemented all of the cybersecurity best practices and recommendations from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Further, one in five small business owners have not committed their employees to formal cybersecurity training, despite the reality that employees represent one of their largest threats.