As more workers began teleworking, concerns about cybersecurity quickly skyrocketed. While every IT department hopes that employees on the network will exercise extreme caution and adhere to all security protocols when accessing networks remotely, that isn't always the case. As a consequence, phishing attacks and other cyberthreats can easily thwart worker productivity and potentially harm hardware, increasing the vulnerability of users' personal and organizational data.

According to Digital Workplace Insights: Seeking Digital and Experience Parity to Support the Hybrid Workforce, an International Data Corporation whitepaper, a little more than one-third of business leaders believe that remote employees completely adhere to established organizational security protocols, and two-thirds believe that remote employees mostly do. However, only half of workers said that they comply with their organizations' suggested security practices when working remotely.

Leaders also noted their biggest challenges with cybersecurity regarding remote workers. More than 40 percent said they don't have visibility into what employees are doing. The second biggest struggle is that staff are using their personal devices to access company resources.

To address security concerns, 64 percent said they will change their operating model from what they used prior to the pandemic, in part to improve employee safety. Additionally, in the IDC's October 2020 COVID-19 Impact on IT Spending Survey, more than one-third of respondents said their companies plan to spend more to ensure secure access for remote workers.

Another solution is for companies to train employees to be more vigilant about protecting the company and themselves from increasing cyberthreats. To help, Amazon has plans to make its internal security awareness curriculum available to the public at no cost.

"A fundamental problem when addressing current cybersecurity threats is education, which is why we're excited to share our Amazon Security Awareness training for free to help organizations and individuals understand how to navigate and fight against security events," says Steve Schmidt, chief information security officer. The Amazon Security Awareness course is available in 10 languages and includes video lessons and online assessments to test learners' knowledge. Visit aws.amazon.com/security/amazon-security-initiatives to learn more.