With COVID restrictions lifted and employees increasingly returning to their offices, it’s important for IT teams to consider all the risks that are associated with this move, says Chris Vaughan, AVP – technical account management, Tanium. “It’s time for IT departments to consider that employees returning to the office and reconnecting their devices to the corporate network may increase risks. Employees working off personal laptops, tablets and mobiles often carry higher cybersecurity risks, due to issues like not having up to date patches installed.

“Now, as employees return to the office, there is a possibility that they will unknowingly bring in devices that are infected with malware, trojans, viruses etc that have laid dormant until this point, ready to spread when an opportunity occurs. Once reconnected to a network, malware can then travel through a company, infecting every computer.”

Another valid security concern after months of working from home is employees developing bad cyber-hygiene habits, such as, forgetting to log off from an app or device after use or leaving confidential information in the open, he adds.

“To tackle these threats, teams should consider embracing technologies which provide real- time insight on what devices are joining their networks and where vulnerabilities exist, such as distributed cloud architecture and endpoint management. This will give businesses the visibility and control they need to minimise the likelihood of a damaging cyberattack as workers head back to the office.”