on work styles , 76 % of office workers say that working from home during COVID-19 has thinned the barrier between their personal and professional lives . Half of remote office workers say they now see their work device as their own personal device , with 46 % admitting to using their work laptop for “ life admin ”; 30 % say they have let someone else use their work device . Meanwhile , 69 % of office workers have used their personal laptop or printer for work tasks and activities since the start of the pandemic .
This all amounts to your basic nightmare for IT decision-makers ( ITDMs ), who stand at the front lines of cyberattacks .
“ Users are the point of entry for most attacks — that ’ s why endpoints account for
70 % of successful breaches , with malware almost always being delivered via email attachments , web links , and downloadable files ,” says Ian Pratt , Global Head of Security Personal Systems at HP . “ Phishing is of particular concern , with attackers using new techniques such as AI-automated spear phishing , where an attacker tailors their lures to a specific individual or group .”
Then there is thread jacking , where an employee ’ s email account is hijacked and spreads malware by responding within existing conversation threads , making it more likely users will open the attachment or link . ( HP PCs come standard with a suite of security features , including HP Sure Sense and
HP Sure Click , which proactively prevent threats and ensure fast recovery through software applications if an attack does happen .) And the list goes on , including denialof-service attacks and — the scariest — ransomware ,
with serious consequences for employers . “ So it ’ s no surprise to hear that 54 % of ITDMs have seen evidence
WATCH NOW
THE WOLF , a film by HP >>
HP Wolf Security unifies all of HP ’ s endpoint security innovations to deliver comprehensive cyber-resiliency under one umbrella , helping consumers , businesses , and IT and security teams navigate ever-growing cyber risks .
of a higher number of phishing-related attacks in the last year , which could lead to exposed company data , reputational damage , noncompliance , and loss of customer trust ,” says Pratt .
Ultimately , HP Wolf Security provides comprehensive endpoint protection and resiliency that starts at the hardware level and extends across software and services .
Standing at the front lines Watching
the latest installation of HP Wolf Security ’ s short-film series and the sneaky ways criminals worm their way into enterprise networks , you might get nervous . In the film , actor Christian Slater returns as the Wolf . His hawkish hacker character sips coffee in a cozy bathrobe while showing us how easy it is for him to infiltrate an entire network simply by sending an innocuousseeming email to a kid playing games on his mom ’ s work computer . Mom scans a document on her home printer and sends it to her team , and the embedded malware spreads as fast as a living virus .
“ Cyberattackers are launching springboard attacks that target kids and their gaming systems with offers of online games and free movies ,” says Aamir Lakhani , cybersecurity researcher and practitioner at
FortiGuard Labs , the threat intelligence and
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION ON OPENING PAGES BY GENE MOLLICA STUDIO
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