More people are working from home now more than ever before making it a perfect opportunity for businesses to remind their employees about the importance of protecting themselves from potential cyber threats. Cyber criminals are shifting their focus from attacks on offices to remote workers, home networks, and personal devices like smartphones and tablets. Cyber security is no longer a luxury, it is a must for organizations in order to protect themselves from potential cyber emergencies.

A cyber emergency is the loss or compromise of company information or systems, typically through third-party intrusion or employee sabotage (cyber attacks) or an accident. Out of the businesses that shifted to remote work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 70% anticipate an increase in the cost of a data breach and 76% anticipate an increase in the time needed to identify and contain a potential breach, according to a 2020 study by IBM and Ponemon. The shift to remote work increased the average cost of a data breach by $137,000 to $4 million, the study reported. Only 21% of businesses utilize fully deployed security automaton, the study found.