Mobile working causing data security issues for businesses

Mobile and remote working is causing data security issues for the UK's small businesses, with 18 per cent convinced their remote workers do not care about data security.

According to figures from Apricorn, a manufacturer of USB drives, 95 per cent of British organisations recognise that they have problems with remote working, with 32 per cent stating that they have already experienced data loss as a result of mobile working and 30 per cent concerned they are not GDPR compliant.

Additionally, the figures also revealed that 53 per cent feel the biggest problem with remote working is the complexity of managing technology used by employees, causing 29 per cent to ban their employees from using removable storage away from the office.

Commenting on the statistics, Jon Fielding, managing director of EMEA at Apricorn stated that the number of companies now choosing to block removable media is significantly increasing, with only 18 per cent banning their staff last year marking an 11 per cent increase.

However, Mr Fielding stated that a ban is not the best solution to the problem, simply tackling the concerns rather than dealing with the real issue of poor data security.

"A unilateral ban is not the solution and ignores the problem altogether whilst presenting a barrier to effective working," he said. "Instead, businesses should identify corporately approved, hardware encrypted devices that are only provided to staff with a justified business case."

Additionally, Mr Fielding added that businesses should also provide their employees with adequate training, which would also prevent breach of GDPR legislation.

"Organisations are simply not following security best practices," he said. "They need to implement and enforce policies and provide employee training to ensure compliance with data protection regulations."