Dublin, 27th May 2025: IT.ie, a leading Irish IT managed services company, is today urging SMEs to strengthen their cybersecurity defences as the deadline for the EU’s NIS2 directive approaches. The need for businesses to reinforce their cybersecurity measures is highlighted in research carried out by IT.ie and SonicWall, which found that one in 10 office workers have pirated content on a work device in the last year.
The research of 1,000 office workers based in Ireland was carried out by Censuswide on behalf of IT.ie and SonicWall, a global leader in cybersecurity innovation. The research emphasises the human role in cybersecurity breaches, as well as a discrepancy between vigilance at home versus in the office.
The majority (65%) of office-based employees said they used a work device for personal tasks in the last 12 months. Of these, 32% have used it for online shopping, 24% for accessing a personal social media account, and 17% for streaming movies and TV shows. Additionally, 9% have used it for gaming and 7% for gambling. Many of these figures are significantly higher for office workers aged 18 to 24. Of this age group, in the last 12 months, 36% checked their social media on a work device, 24% gamed and 17% pirated TV shows or movies.
The survey suggests that these extracurricular activities are more likely to happen when employees are working from home, with 53% saying they are more inclined to use websites and apps that are not approved by their employer when they work remotely. Furthermore, 64% said being in the office makes them more vigilant about cybersecurity. This may explain why 58% feel more exposed to cyberattacks when working remotely.
Despite this, 28% of office workers said they do not use a company-provided VPN (virtual private network) when accessing work systems remotely. In fact, 23% say their employer doesn’t have specific remote working cybersecurity policies at all.
The research comes as the latest NIS2 Directive deadline approaches, requiring EU member states to provide a list of organisations that will fall under it. It is expected that compliance will be costly, highlighting the financial burden of adequate cybersecurity for SMEs. To address this, IT.ie is launching CyberProtect, a multifaceted solution designed to make cybersecurity more accessible to SMEs.
Eamon Gallagher, founder and managing director, IT.ie, said: “As the EU-wide NIS2 Directive approaches, businesses are now facing the ever-present risk of cybersecurity attacks, along with the new risk of non-compliance with the Directive. Our research shows that human error – and simple human nature – remain significant risks to businesses. For example, we found that 46% of employees have viewed confidential work documentation in a public place in the last 12 months.
“Such practices should be addressed – and hopefully eliminated – with frequent cybersecurity training. But that must be backed up by combined measures that can help to protect a business if, and when, an employee does make an error. Employees are not acting maliciously, but they do make mistakes. This needs to be countered by simply making it impossible for employees to access pirate websites, gambling sites and many others using their work devices.
“Many SMEs struggle to implement comprehensive security measures due to financial constraints and poor availability of options. CyberProtect recognises this urgent need by making cybersecurity more accessible to businesses, regardless of their size. It is a comprehensive security stack that eliminates the need to deal with multiple vendors. With SMEs accounting for 99.8% of businesses here, we must ensure we do everything we can to protect them – and our economy.”
Stuart Taylor, Regional Director for Northern Europe, Sonicwall, said:
“These office behaviours, especially in hybrid or remote environments, highlight the importance of a layered security approach – one that extends beyond traditional perimeter defences. Solutions like SonicWall’s layered security architecture integrate advanced threat protection, cloud secure edge, zero-trust access, endpoint control, and secure mobile connectivity can help organizations protect every access point, whether in-office or remote.”
ENDS
About the survey
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1,000 office workers in the Republic of Ireland (aged 18+). Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
Photo Caption for both photos:
Eamon Gallagher, Founder and Managing Director, IT.ie and Tristan Bateup, Channel Director UK & Ireland, SonicWall
About IT.ie
Established in 2004 by Eamon Gallagher, IT.ie’s mission has been to equip businesses with innovative IT solutions that not only meet but exceed their expectations. The company’s evolution from a break/fix IT service provider to a comprehensive source of Managed IT Services, Cloud Solutions, Cyber Security, and proactive IT support reflects its commitment to staying ahead in an ever-changing digital world.
About SonicWall
SonicWall is a cybersecurity forerunner with more than 30 years of expertise and is recognized as a leading partner-first company. With the ability to build, scale and manage security across the cloud, hybrid and traditional environments in real-time, SonicWall provides seamless protection against the most evasive cyberattacks across endless exposure points for increasingly remote, mobile and cloud-enabled users. With its own threat research center, SonicWall can quickly and economically provide purpose-built security solutions to enable any organization—enterprise, government agencies and SMBs—around the world. For more information, visit www.sonicwall.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
