Remote Work: 5 Security Risks IT Teams Commonly Miss

While the best IT service providers in Melbourne, San Francisco, London, and other major centers are masterful at securing their remote workforces, some gaps remain stubbornly hidden in plain sight. Like that one weak password you keep meaning to change, these overlooked vulnerabilities can cause unexpected headaches for even the most vigilant organizations.

1. Shadow IT

Remember when Dave from accounting set up his own Dropbox sync to work from home? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Many employees are quietly building their own productivity tech stacks, complete with unauthorized apps, personal cloud storage, and collaboration tools that IT never approved. While we can't blame them for trying to stay productive, these unsanctioned solutions create data black holes where sensitive information can roam free.

2. Home Network Houseguests

Corporate laptops sharing home networks with smart fridges, gaming consoles, and that questionable IoT coffee maker might sound like the setup for a tech joke, but it's a very real security concern. Many IT teams focus solely on securing work devices, overlooking the fact that these devices are only as secure as the weakest link in the home network. That weakest link is often a poorly protected smart device that hasn't seen a firmware update since 2019.

3. Mobile Menace

With all eyes on securing laptops and VPNs, mobile devices can slip through the cracks. Employees casually check work emails, access cloud storage, and join video calls from their phones—devices that might be running outdated operating systems or connecting through unsecured public Wi-Fi. The security policies meticulously crafted for workstations mean little when someone's reading sensitive documents on their phone while waiting for their morning coffee.

4. The Human Element

Remote work has transformed people’s homes into micro-branches of the core office, but most security training hasn't caught up. We're still teaching employees about tailgating prevention and clean desk policies while they're working from their kitchen tables. The new remote reality demands updated training that addresses real-world scenarios: handling sensitive calls when family members are present, securing physical documents at home, and managing work-life boundaries when the office is ten steps from the bedroom.

5. Update Fatigue

When employees worked in the office, forcing software updates was relatively straightforward. Now, with everyone remote, update management has become a game of cat and mouse. Workers postpone critical updates to avoid disrupting their workday, leading to a growing security debt. IT teams often focus on major system updates while overlooking the accumulating risk of outdated browsers, PDF readers, and other seemingly innocent applications.

Moving Beyond Basic Security Hygiene

The solution isn't just adding more security tools or sending more reminder emails. Whether you’re running a major publication or working as an immigration lawyer from home, it’s worth taking the time to rethink your approach to remote security.

This means:

Embracing reality: Employees will find workarounds if official tools don't meet their needs. Rather than fighting shadow IT, provide better alternatives that actually solve their problems.

Making security convenient: When security measures create friction, humans naturally look for shortcuts. So, design security protocols that work with human nature, not against it.

Building a remote-first security culture: Stop treating remote work security as an extension of office security. Create policies and training that reflect the actual challenges of working from home.

Implementing continuous monitoring: Deploy tools that can detect security gaps across all endpoints, including mobile devices and home networks, without invading employee privacy.

Creating clear incident response plans: Ensure employees know exactly what to do when security incidents occur at home, without assuming they have access to on-site IT support.

The shift to remote work has created security blind spots that traditional IT approaches fail to address. By acknowledging these often-overlooked risks and adapting security strategies to match the reality of remote work, you can build a more resilient security framework that protects your assets, regardless of where your employees choose to work.

And yes, we should probably tell Dave from accounting about the company's approved cloud storage solution.