If the IT department suspects the rest of the company harbors rogue app downloaders, it should look for the perps among staff millennials first.
That's what a survey of 1,500 North American workers by IT solutions provider Softchoice suggests. The survey queried workers on cloud security related issues, and found that millennials are far more likely than the elders on the job to go behind IT's back to download apps — often unauthorized ones.
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The survey's title may not say it all, but it says a lot: (Still) Careless Users in the Cloud. Despite the volumes that have been written, blogged, YouTubed, and publicly spoken about the perils of cloud security, many workers simply believe "It won't happen to me."
For instance, when asked if they've ever downloaded an app at work without letting IT know, 31 percent of millennials boldly revealed that they had. That's compared to 22 percent of baby boomers. When asked if they'd intentionally downloaded an unauthorized app despite the existence of an ITY approved one, 23 percent of millennials said they had, compared to 13 percent of boomers.
Despite the cybersecurity risks involved, 1 in 5 employees said they have:
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Kept their passwords in plain sight;
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Accessed work files from a non-password protected device;
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Lost devices that weren't password-protected.
It isn't out of disrespect for IT, the survey also found, since 71 percent said IT works proactively to understand employees' needs at work. Asked if they get the support they truly need from IT, two-thirds agreed they did.
What's the answer? A combination of scolding, education, and vigilance, Softchoice advised.
"Employees display a wide range of bad habits, from lax password security to rogue IT behavior. If something doesn't change, organizations will be placed in an extremely vulnerable position," David MacDonald, Softchoice's president and CEO, says. "Risky behavior and data vulnerabilities are almost guaranteed to persist if organizations don't provide training and direction on cybersecurity best practices for the apps, platforms and IT tools employees use on a daily basis."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
