Office Brands CEO highlights dangers of identity theft and hacking.

 

While working from home is the ‘new normal’ for many office workers, employers need to be aware of the underlying security risks.

 

In a recent interview with Domain Media’s Commercial Real Estate News, Office Brands CEO Gavin Ward (pictured) said that working from home carries dangers that many companies haven’t yet considered.

 

“For example, people working at home aren’t disposing properly of printed materials that can make identity theft much easier, are having confidential conversations that can be overheard by others in the house, and are routinely having their webcams, screen content and computers hacked,” he said.

 

“This means that workers from home either need to update their equipment and technology – or move to an office,” he said

 

“Security is critical to business and a recent report from the Australian government put annual identity fraud as costing $2.1 billion,” Ward said. “When you’re working in a home environment, these things will accelerate because it’s much easier for others to get hold of your confidential information.

 

“People’s conversations are also being overheard at home, and they don’t have the screen filters that stop others reading them from an angle, and haven’t invested in headphones or document shredders or good firewalls,” he said.