When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States last March, many office employees quickly began working from home. Yet, businesses often didn’t take steps to ensure their cyber security at the time. With more employees working remotely came more risks of cyber security breakdowns, such as malware and virus attacks.

Now, nearly a year into the pandemic, the security firm Malwarebytes has published a report on how remote work impacted businesses’ cyber security efforts. The report included both bad news and good news and information for businesses to consider moving forward.

Some of the bad news included the following:

• 44% of businesses surveyed didn’t provide employees with training about cyber security risks while working at home .
• 61% of businesses didn’t urge employees to use antivirus software on their personal devices they were using to complete work.
• 65% of businesses didn’t provide antivirus security options for their employees who were using personal devices to complete work.

The good news was that as the pandemic continued, more businesses with remote workers began addressing their cybersecurity risks. More businesses:

• Implemented VPN services to keep their communications private
• Began using secure cloud storage options
• Used password management tools more
• Began giving their employees crucial cyber security training for working at home

All of these cyber security upgrades will help business better support remote workers in 2021 and beyond. Surprisingly, a cyber security attack can cost a small business up to $200,000 . A cyber security attack also can expose:

• a business’ trade secrets
• client lists
• products in development

So, it’s important for a business’ bottom line to continue to analyze its cyber security risks and address those.