The hidden (and a little alarming) working habits of UK office workers are putting their companies at serious cybersecurity risk, according to new insights from 11,000 employees across Europe, including over 1,000 in the UK.
The study from Sharp Europe found that two-thirds of employees are engaging in risky tech behaviours at work that they’d rather keep hidden from their bosses. This comes despite the majority (86%) of workers being more concerned about cybersecurity than they were a year ago.
Commissioned by Sharp Europe, a leading provider of business technology products and services, the survey highlights the growing disconnect between increasing cybersecurity awareness and employees’ daily actions and how new tech is impacting this. The research found that 50% of office workers cited Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the main reason driving this increased concern.
Top five ranked secret working habits were as follows:
- Failure to log out of work accounts at night
- Employees not updating their laptops
- Logging company devices into an unsecured Wi-Fi network
- Downloading unauthorised software onto work laptops
- Sharing memes on WhatsApp with colleagues
Sharp’s survey also shows that companies are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks on Friday afternoons, as just under one in five (17%) admit that they are most likely to make a cybersecurity mistake at the end of the working week. Meanwhile, over a third (35%) blame stress due to a heavy workload increasing the chance of making a mistake. It’s no wonder that human error is the cause of 95% of cybersecurity breaches.
Despite the growing concern for cybersecurity, many employees still don’t think it’s their responsibility to keep the business they work for secure. In fact, 21% of workers believe their company’s IT department should handle everything related to cybersecurity – and 5% even said they wouldn’t care if their company was hacked.
Mark Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Sharp UK, said: “Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting company data – it’s about protecting the people behind that data. Our findings show that workers play a critical role in safeguarding company security, and businesses must empower them with the right tools, training and motivation to effectively reduce these risks.”
Sharp’s research suggests that workers, especially when juggling heavy workloads or wrapping up before the weekend, may benefit from extra support to keep cybersecurity top of mind. As of 2024, the global average cost of a data breach is US$4.88 million – a 10% increase over last year and the highest total ever. With the stakes higher than ever before, companies must equip their teams with the right resources and knowledge to protect their digital environments.
