Credit: PxHere

More than half of UK organisations believe that the sharp increase in home working seen as a result of the pandemic has left their IT systems exposed to a cyberattack.

According to research from the British Chambers of Commerce and IT firm Cisco, 56% of the 1,000 companies they surveyed agreed that working from home has increased their exposure to cybersecurity threats.

One in ten of those responding said they had been the victim of a cyberattack in the past year, a figure which rose to one in seven for larger firms.

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that as the majority of workers expect to continue working from home for at least part of the week in future, companies need to take action to ensure their systems are protected.

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“The huge shift to home working, and the use of cloud computing, for tens of thousands of employees happened almost overnight, so it is not surprising that many firms were caught out by the implications this had for their cyber-security arrangements,” she said. “All of the BCC’s research indicates that a shift to a more hybrid way of working, with many staff now splitting their time between the office and home, is here to stay, so it is more vital than ever that firms have the right cyber-security protections in place.

“With one in 10 firms confirming they have come under attack in the last year, the need to take action now could not be more important.”