Human Factors for Cybersecurity Awareness in a Remote Work Environment

Abstract

The conveniences of remote work are various, but a surge in cyberthreats has heavily affected the optimal processes of organizations. As a result, employees' cybersecurity awareness was jeopardized, prompting organizations to require improvement of cybersecurity processes at all levels. This paper explores which cybersecurity aspects are more relevant and/or relatable for remote working employees. A qualitative approach via interviews is used to collect experiences and perspectives from employees in different organizations. The results show that human factors, such as trust in cybersecurity infrastructure, previous practices, training, security fatigue, and improvements with gamification, are core to supporting the success of a cybersecurity program in a remote work environment.