Hornetsecurity Research Reveals Microsoft Teams Security and Backup Flaws With More Than Half of Users Sharing Business-Critical Information on the Platform

Most backup and security vendors overlook this vital communication channel

• 70% of respondents exchange more direct messages with colleagues via User Chats than Group Channel Conversations.
• 45% send confidential and sensitive information frequently via Teams
• This rises to 51% often sharing business-critical information
• 48% of all respondents have accidentally sent Teams messages that should not have been sent

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading cybersecurity software provider Hornetsecurity has found an urgent need for greater backup for Microsoft Teams, with nearly half of users (45%) sending confidential and critical information frequently via the platform. Research commissioned by the company highlights the often-overlooked need for Teams backup and security, as internal business communications over chat are on the rise, reaching the same levels as communication via email. The research was conducted by techconsult, an established German IT research and analyst firm.

Teams User Chat (direct) messaging is the preferred form of business communication over Teams Channel Conversations for 90% of respondents, and more than 41% of people send a minimum of 10 User Chat messages a day. Just over a quarter of all messages (26%) are written in Teams Group Channel Conversations, showing communication is unevenly spread across the platform. 

Nearly half (45%) of respondents frequently share confidential and sensitive information via Teams with 51% often sending business-critical documents and data. Users tend to send such information more when they use personal devices; 51% of those on a personal device send restricted and confidential data, compared to 29% of people on a work device.

The survey also found that 48% of all respondents sent messages on Teams they should not have. Of this group, 88% had been trained in the use of collaboration solutions, highlighting the need for increased and improved training on how to use Teams and the risks of sending sensitive data.

Over half of respondents (56%) see employee training and awareness as the primary approach to reducing cybersecurity risks. However, with 89% of respondents writing more User Chat messages than Group Channel Conversations, it is important to use a backup solution that protects all collaborative features on Teams.

Hornetsecurity's CEO Daniel Hofmann says: "The increasing use of chat services has changed the way many now conduct work. With this change, the risk of data loss has unfortunately increased. Companies must have adequate safeguards in place to protect and secure business data. Otherwise, they run the risk of productivity, financial and data loss.

"This is because Microsoft does not provide robust protection of data shared via Teams - so beyond the cybersecurity vulnerabilities, organisations must ensure information and files shared across the platform are backed up in a secure, responsible way. This is why we're proud to offer Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup, the only major third-party backup provider to protect the full range of Teams communications, from User Chats to Group Channel Conversations."

For further information and a full copy of the survey, please click here.

The Teams Backup survey by techconsult for Hornetsecurity was the result of:

• Quantitative online survey in August 2022
  
  
• Questionnaire with 19 questions
  
  
• 540 participants from companies with at least 50 employees from all industries

Hornetsecurity is the leading security and backup solution provider for Microsoft 365. Its flagship product is the most extensive cloud security solution for Microsoft 365 on the market, providing robust, comprehensive, award-winning protection: Spam and virus filtering, protection against phishing and ransomware, legally compliant archiving and encryption, advanced threat protection, email continuity, signatures and disclaimers. It's an all-in-one security package that even includes backup and recovery for all data in Microsoft 365 and users' endpoints.

Hornetsecurity Inc. is based in Pittsburgh, PA with other North America offices in Washington D.C. and Montreal, Canada. Globally, Hornetsecurity operates in more than 30 countries through its international distribution network. Its premium services are used by 50,000+ customers including Swisscom, Telefónica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, and CLAAS.

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SOURCE Hornetsecurity