With the number of people working at home ever increasing, a new survey has highlighted the importance of online security.

Research from authentication firm GrlDsure has revealed that as many as half of all UK office workers were working from home this summer, highlighting a huge shift in traditional work behaviour.

Forty-six per cent of workers said they had planned remote and home working last month, with 68 per cent describing home working as an important part of overall job satisfaction.

While most of these home workers were dependent on internet access to make flexible and remote working possible, just 16 per cent were concerned about data security and a minority had considered purchasing programmes to ensure their computers were safe from virus attacks.

GrIDsure's CEO, Stephen Howes said, “All too often remote working is associated with concerns around security and difficulties in logging onto remote networks. Not only can this be frustrating for the end user, but it also puts unnecessary strain on the IT helpdesk.”

Just nine per cent were concerned about password use or smart token access, something which should be a priority, according to IT experts. Mr Howes said, “Employees choose remote working locations outside of their home security becomes even more crucial, yet it is worrying to see such a large proportion of users accessing their networks without any for form of authentication.”

Far more home workers were concerned about broadband speeds than IT security, with a quarter complaining about slow broadband.