1 in 2 workers say company productivity apps are 'nonsense': Survey

Productivity still wins out over protection for many users worldwide.

While 52 per cent respondents agreed that they do not give much thought to whether the apps they use are sanctioned by IT or not as they just want the job done, 44 per cent think they can get away with using a non-work application, as the solutions provided by their company are "nonsense", said the survey by global cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

About 44 per cent of employees admit to using a non-work application on a corporate device, and 46 per cent of them have actually uploaded corporate data to that application.

"Nearly 83 per cent of respondents confess to using their work laptop for personal browsing, and only 45 per cent of them fully restrict the sites they visit," the findings showed.

"About 42 per cent of respondents said they often or always access corporate data from a personal device – almost certainly breaking corporate security policy.

While 14 per cent of respondents admit to watching or accessing porn on their work laptop, and 14 per cent access the dark web.

"There are a great number of individual differences across the workforce. This can include individual employee's values, accountability within their organisation, as well as aspects of their personality, all of which are important factors which drive people's behaviours," said Dr Linda K. Kaye, Cyberpsychology Academic at Edge Hill University.

In India, however, the survey results indicated a high level of security awareness, with 84 per cent of respondents claiming they take instructions from their IT team seriously, and 83 per cent agree that cybersecurity within their organisation is partly their responsibility.

Additionally, 67 per cent acknowledge that using non-work applications on a corporate device is a security risk.

Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of remote workers said they are more conscious of their organisation's cybersecurity policies since lockdown began, but many are breaking the rules anyway due to limited understanding or resource constraints.

"It's really heartening to see that so many people take the advice from their corporate IT team seriously, although you have to wonder about the those who don't. At the same time, those people also accept their own role in the human firewall of any organisation," said Nilesh Jain, Vice President, Southeast Asia and India, Trend Micro.