The pandemic forced companies to take drastic safety measures, and as a result, millions of office workers became full-time remote employees virtually overnight. A year later, the experiment is still ongoing. According to a recent Upwork survey, all-remote and hybrid workforces are here to stay for many companies: the expected growth rate for all-remote workforces over the next five years doubled, and about 62% of hiring managers expect their workforces to be more remote in the future.

The shift to remote work has been a seismic event for benefits and HR professionals, but it has also had a significant impact in the IT department, as cybersecurity incidents are on the rise. One recent survey found that 20% of companies experienced a remote work-related security breach. It will take a combined effort to address the risk remote work poses to sensitive company data. HR departments need to help their companies build a stronger security culture, and IT teams must harden the security posture.