A new report commissioned by IBM has found the average total cost of a data breach for a company that encourages agents to work from home is a staggering $5.
This figure is higher than cyberattacks where remote working was not a factor, the study added.
In the latest annual Cost of a Data Breach Report conducted by Ponemon Institute along with IBM Security surveyed more than 500 organisations across the globe – found that the average cost of a cyber incident is now a record-topping $4.24m.
But when the study analysed businesses where remote working was involved, they found that the average total cost of a data breach was above average – just shy of $5m.
The report read: "Businesses were forced to quickly adapt their technology approaches last year, with many companies encouraging or requiring employees to work from home, and 60 per cent of organisations moving further into cloud-based activities during the pandemic.”
In a bad week for remote workers, it follows news 67% of supervisors and business leaders consider remote workers more easily replaceable than onsite workers, according to a poll released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
62% believe full-time remote work is detrimental to employees’ career objectives and 72% would prefer all of their subordinates to be working in the office.
