How annoying is cybersecurity?

Issue 3 2022 News & Events

Findings from new Cisco survey of local employees benefiting from a flexible work environment highlights the importance of making cybersecurity protocols simpler and integrated while safeguarding the corporate network from attack.

Even though 53% of employees believe that securing their work devices is important and simple to do, there is still a significant portion of the workforce that must become comfortable with cybersecurity practices if hybrid working in SA is to be safe and effective.

• Fewer than 29% of employees trust their companies to keep their data secure in a hybrid work environment.

• More than 33% of South Africa’s distributed workforce needs to find ways of circumventing the security measures of their organisations to remain productive.

• One in four employees (24%) choose to use the same password for multiple accounts and applications, putting their business’ network and devices at risk.

• Just 18% say they use a secure password manager for their applications and online services.

Breadth of cybersecurity measures

To protect valuable information, employers are putting certain measures in place, with VPNs, multi-factor authentication, and regular software updates being three of the most popular. Interestingly, nearly 60% of South African workers would be willing to embrace facial recognition technology and 87% would feel comfortable using fingerprint recognition to access their network. This compares favourably to the UK with 55% of workers surveyed stating they would be okay to use facial recognition and 69% would be comfortable with fingerprint recognition.

This suggests an increasing familiarity with the biometric authentication methods available to smartphone users. With almost seven out of 10 SA workers believing that their organisation takes cybersecurity seriously, there is a disconnect with what they believe their responsibilities are in this regard.

Understanding the alternatives

A lack of awareness among employees about security measures is a major factor. So is the perception that following protocol literally wastes time. This underlines the need for continual cybersecurity awareness and educational programmes to ward off data breaches. For instance, less than 40% of SA workers are aware of single sign-on solutions in their organisation to access a range of platforms and apps without having to log in each time and almost 42% of people spend up to 10 minutes daily on dealing with security; less than 2% of their working hours. In the UK, workers complain they spend on average 12 minutes a day on security measures.

Additionally, only 52% of employees know of any internal support resources for reporting incidents and phishing attempts.

Conrad Steyn, CTO at Cisco South Africa, says: “With hybrid work here to stay, employees are increasingly operating from uncontrolled environments, using public and private networks and multiple devices. When individuals don’t know how to protect themselves and their company network against an attack, an entire business could come under siege. In a new and complicated threat landscape, businesses need to focus on both educating employees to keep their communications safer and more secure, and choosing integrated security technologies to maximise threat protection.”

Educate, improve, invest

Cisco’s research demonstrates the need for South African companies to improve their security awareness training and educate employees on the importance of reporting incidents and security vigilance in a new hybrid working world. Businesses should work with employees to find security protocols that work for all, helping to make the corporate network the most resilient it can be. Across industries, investing in security solutions that assure both employees and customers of data and network security is now critical.




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Highest increase in global cyberattacks in two years
Information Security News & Events
Check Point Global Research released new data on Q2 2024 cyber-attack trends, noting a 30% global increase in Q2 2024, with Africa experiencing the highest average weekly per organisation.

Read more...
The rise of AI-powered cybercrime and defence
Information Security News & Events AI & Data Analytics
Check Point Software Technologies launched its inaugural AI Security Report, offering an in-depth exploration of how cybercriminals are weaponising artificial intelligence (AI), alongside strategic insights defenders need to stay ahead.

Read more...
From the editor's desk: We’ve only just begun
Technews Publishing News & Events
The surveillance market has expanded far beyond the analogue days of just recording and/or monitoring screens. The capabilities of surveillance technology today extend to black screen monitoring with ...

Read more...
SAFPS issues SAPS impersonation scam warning
News & Events Security Services & Risk Management
The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is warning the public against a scam in which scammers pose as members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and trick and intimidate individuals into handing over personal and financial information.

Read more...
Strong industry ties set Securex South Africa apart
News & Events Training & Education
Securex South Africa, co-located with A-OSH EXPO, Facilities Management Expo, and Firexpo, is a meeting place of minds, where leading security, safety, fire, and facilities professionals come together, backed by strong ties with the industry’s most influential bodies.

Read more...
Connected commercial drone market to reach US$37.3 billion
News & Events Commercial (Industry) IoT & Automation
The global market for connected commercial drones is forecast to grow from US$18.6 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% to reach US$37.3 billion in 2029

Read more...
Phishing attacks through SVG image files
Kaspersky News & Events Information Security
Kaspersky has detected a new trend: attackers are distributing phishing emails to individual and corporate users with attachments in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files, a format commonly used for storing images.

Read more...
Fully-integrated browser AI
News & Events
Opera Mini now provides all its smartphone users with its own free built-in browser AI, Aria, including AI chat, Ask Aria and image generation. According to an Opera survey, 80% of South Africans want AI tools integrated into their browser.

Read more...
Amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulations
Technews Publishing Agriculture (Industry) News & Events Associations
SANSEA, SASA, National Security Forum, CEO, TAPSOSA, and LASA oppose recently published Amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulations regarding firearms.

Read more...
Local innovation driving excellence in FM
Securex South Africa News & Events
As organisations seek cost-effective, sustainable, and high-quality solutions, home-grown facilities management innovation is proving to be a critical driver of operational efficiency and long-term success.

Read more...