December 9th, 2020

Worldwide survey of remote workers shows unacceptably poor security practices from higher ranked staff

San Francisco, California, December 9, 2020 – OneLogin, a global leader in identity and access management (IAM), today announced results from its recent Covid-19 State of Remote Work Survey 2.0, which uncovered shocking security practices from senior management in areas such as password and device security. The survey found that:

• Senior managers, compared with more junior counterparts were twice as likely to share a work device with someone outside the organization with 42% reportedly doing so compared to only 20% of their junior counterparts.
• When it comes to sharing confidential passwords 19% of senior managers admitted to giving their passwords to someone in their family compared to only 7% of junior employees.
• Senior management also reported working from public WiFi networks at double the rate of their juniors, with only 15% of junior staffers stating doing so compared to 30% of senior members of staff.

The findings also suggest a less security-focused remote workforce in the United States. Remote workers in America shared devices 7% more than their UK counterparts, worked on public WiFi at a 9% higher rate, and downloaded personal applications at an 8% higher rate than their UK counterparts.

“These survey results paint an illuminating picture of security posture in a remote working environment”, said Brad Brooks, CEO of OneLogin. “The effects of the pandemic mean that virtually all organisations are now operating, to some degree, outside of the controlled and protected office environment. That is, without the corporate-grade firewalls and on-site IT people we all once relied on for protection. It has never been more important for employees to take personal responsibility for their own security posture. Understanding the sanctity of their corporate passwords and devices, and the potential dangers of working on an unsecure WiFi network should be top priorities for all remote workers. More importantly, it is up to senior management to lead by example. Unfortunately, these results appear to indicate otherwise.”

Additionally, the report found that when it comes to security best practices among men versus women, men were seen to be consistently worse than their female colleagues since working through the pandemic:

• 32% of men reported that they had shared a work device compared to 20% of women.
• 25% stated that they had worked on public WiFi while only 17% of women claimed doing so.
• 30% of men reported downloading personal applications onto a work device, as to only 15% of women.
• To see the full results of this remote work survey please visit www.onelogin.com or get in touch via the media contact below.

About the survey
This survey was conducted with 2000 US and UK remote workers, in December 2020. Please reach out to see the full results of the survey. Conducted online, the survey was broken down by nationality, region, age, gender, job role, industry & seniority at a company.

About OneLogin
OneLogin is the number one value-leader in Identity and Access Management. Our Trusted Experience Platform™ provides everything you need to secure your workforce, customers, and partners at a price that works with your budget. Headquartered in San Francisco, OneLogin secures over 5500 customers worldwide, including Airbus, Stitch Fix, and AAA. To learn more visit https://www.onelogin.com/