The Least Cyber-Secure Countries for Remote Employees

Recent research has shown that 68% of high-revenue growth companies have embraced a hybrid work model. Remote and hybrid working are indeed a hot trend for businesses worldwide.

For those businesses embracing remote or hybrid working, they are enjoying benefits including reduced costs, improved flexibility, and wider skills and talent pools. However, amidst this growing remote working trend, cyber security has become more critical than ever.

Cloud application security company Indusface.com conducted a study to find out the most secure countries for businesses to allow employees to work remotely by analyzing historical cyber attack data per country.

The security company created an index score based on cybersecurity data, including DDOS attacks, phishing sites, Malware hosting sites, and compromised computers.

It turns out that Honduras is the most secure country in the Americas for businesses to allow employees to work remotely.

Key Study Findings: 

• Honduras is the most cyber-secure American country for businesses to allow their employees to work from, with a cyber security index score of 89.55 out of 100.
• Costa Rica ranks second with an index score of 84.81. It has nearly 400% fewer malware-hosting sites on average than the United States.
• The least cyber-secure American countries are Panama, the United States, and Brazil.

Most Cyber-Secure Countries in the Americas to Work Remotely

Honduras is the most secure American country for businesses to allow employees to work remotely from, with a cyber security score of 89.55 out of 100. The country also ranked as the most cyber-secure country in the world. 

Contributing to Honduras’ top ranking is that it is home to one of the lowest average number of DDOS attacks (40) and phishing sites (90) in the world, making businesses more assured of their cyber security. 

Costa Rica ranks as the second most cyber-secure American country, with a cyber security index score of 84.81/100. The country has 270 malware-hosting sites per 100,000 urls - nearly 400% less than the United States where over 1,320 sites have been reported! Sites that contain malware are more likely to steal your business information and endanger your security.

Ranking third as the most cyber-secure American country is Guatemala with an overall cyber security index score of 84.47/100. This Central American country boasts the lowest number of phishing sites with an average of only 20 per 100,000 urls. 

Top 5 most cyber-secure American countries

^{* Total DDOS Attacks were counted between 2015 to 2021.  **Compromised computers = have been infected with the Gamarue botnet.}

Meanwhile, Panama ranks as the least secure American country for businesses to allow employees to remotely work from.

Least Cyber-Secure American Countries to Work Remotly

Panama ranks the least secure country in the Americas for businesses to allow employees to work remotely from, with a total cybersecurity score of only 48.45 out of 100.

With 1,560 phishing sites and 1,150 malware-hosting sites per 100,000 urls, businesses in Panama will need to be extra careful when identifying whether a website is genuine.

The United States ranks as the second least cyber-secure American country. The US has one of the highest number of malware-hosting sites per 100,000 internet users (1,320), which leads to its low cyber security score of 62.71. 

Following closely behind is Brazil, which ranks as the third least cyber secure American country. It has a cyber security score of 67.18/100.

Top 3 least cyber secure American countries to work from

Venky Sundar, founder and president of Indusface commented on working remotely across the world: 

“Attracting top talent through remote work can revolutionize your business. However, it also leaves your sensitive data and assets vulnerable to hackers. Therefore, it is important to be prepared to address remote work security risks.”

There are some key points you can use to prepare for remote work security risks and that you should consider when recruiting remote talents globally:

1. Firstly, you should consider which countries are least targeted by hackers and least risky to your cyber security.
2. Secondly, look at regulations that govern data security in the country. For example, GDPR is probably the gold standard when it comes to data security.
3. Thirdly, research cyber security law enforcement in the country. This indicates how quickly people will be punished when found guilty of committing cybercrime.
4. Fourthly, check to see if there are cybersecurity government grants. Cybersecurity grants are provided to SMBs which tend to be more susceptible to cyber attacks.
5. Fifthly, the level of cybersecurity awareness among the population also affects how likely hackers are to succeed in commiting cyber crimes. 

Security Tips for Businesses Leveraging Remote or Hybrid Working

According to Sundar, there is no one way to secure remote working. But you should make sure that security is an integral part of your workplace culture and employees’ training on cyber security is an ongoing commitment in your company.

Besides that, other top tips and best practices to secure remote working within your business are: 

1. Enforce strong authentication 

Authentication starts by identifying the remote worker before a worker can access corporate data and assets. From this, you can build audit trails of the actions against the identity.

2. Update and encrypt your systems and devices

Outdated technology could open doors to hackers with credential information like credit cards being stolen. Cases like this will have a fatal hit on your business’s reputation as well as cyber security. It is recommended that all your devices be updated and encrypted with SSL certificates. 

3. Initiate employee cyber security training

Cyber security training is vital to guard against internal security risks from your own employees, both those working in the office and remotely.

Untrained employees can unknowingly expose the business to malware or ransomware attacks at work, which puts the company and clients at risk.

To guard against internal cyber security risks, carry out regular and ongoing employee training on cyber security, and make it fun.

You could get your team engaged in the training by setting up phishing email simulators so they can see and be aware of the potential dangers that exist online. 

4. Avoid weak or duplicate passwords

Many businesses duplicate or share passwords for multiple accounts. Research has shown that hackers love that and bankon weak passwords when brute forcing PoS terminals.

To protect against data breaches, make sure everyone uses secure passwords. Ask remote employees to use an automatic password generator to create safer, more secure passwords for work. 

5. Only upload files to secure systems

Hackers often attack victims by uploading malicious code that can be executed directly on the victims’ server.

Avoid storing data in unencrypted storage, leaving data on devices without password protection, and attaching sensitive information directly into an email just be be safe. 

All these points should be part of your security policy for employees, including remote workers.

Full List of Secure Countries for Employees to Work Remotely Worldwide

Country

Continent

Internet users

"Total DDOS Attacks (2015-2021)"

"Total DDOS Attacks per 100,000 Internet Users (2015-2021)"

"Phishing Sites (per 100,000 urls)"

"Malware Hosting Sites (per 100,000 urls)"

"Compromised Computers (per 100,000 internet users) (Gamarue Botnet)"

"Cyber Security score (/100)"

1. Honduras

Americas

2,977,793

1193

40.06

90

120

413

89.55

2. South Korea

Asia

49,421,084

28976

58.63

100

560

13

88.88

3. Japan

Asia

117,400,000

14346

12.22

150

730

21

87.49

4. Costa Rica

Americas

3,511,549

1455

41.43

180

270

712

84.87

5. Guatemala

Americas

11,750,000

13158

111.98

20

300

516

84.48

6. Mexico

Americas

92,010,000

24538

26.67

80

350

1,948

84.31

7. Colombia

Americas

30,548,252

5919

19.38

180

440

1,073

82.67

8. Ecuador

Americas

9,521,056

4890

51.36

170

330

1,349

82.48

9. Belgium

Europe

10,021,242

7903

78.86

320

430

47

82.49

10. Finland

Europe

4,831,170

15158

313.75

280

390

11

82.48

11. China

Asia

1,051,140,000

550337

52.36

80

3,250

3

82.11

12. Austria

Europe

7,681,957

13421

174.71

260

340

137

80.61

13. Bangladesh

Asia

126,210,000

8351

6.62

620

720

45

80.05

14. Israel

Asia

6,788,737

5667

83.48

310

390

583

79.28

15. Paraguay

Americas

4,160,340

14680

352.86

220

330

165

78.10

16. Senegal

Africa

4,698,108

432

9.20

80

1000

1,023

78.13

17. Switzerland

Europe

7,942,864

16086

202.52

460

470

17

78.12

18. El Salvador

Americas

1,993,079

2625

131.71

110

220

2,330

78.12

19. New Zealand

Oceania

4,273,353

3312

77.50

510

540

91

77.91

20. Greece

Europe

7,923,438

7447

93.99

410

390

736

76.34

21. Sweden

Europe

9,554,907

36914

386.34

370

440

25

76.35

22. Norway

Europe

5,120,225

24305

474.69

340

490

14

75.53

23. Canada

Americas

33,950,632

21200

62.44

590

790

32

75.13

24. Georgia

Asia

3,446,533

1232

35.75

690

820

36

75.15

25. France

Europe

59,470,000

29574

49.73

610

850

31

74.92

26. Pakistan

Asia

130,000,000

26569

20.44

260

850

770

74.73

27. Nigeria

Africa

136,203,231

28829

21.17

570

970

62

74.73

28. Sri Lanka

Asia

7,121,116

12089

169.76

460

240

1,110

74.52

29. Argentina

Americas

33,561,876

25503

75.99

510

640

322

74.31

30. Germany

Europe

77,794,405

137953

177.33

480

570

75

73.89

31. Estonia

Europe

1,153,786

8055

698.14

540

440

14

73.91

32. Lebanon

Asia

4,755,187

8827

185.63

90

570

1,277

73.28

33. Philippines

Asia

73,003,313

29036

39.77

200

880

790

73.08

34. Egypt

Africa

75,660,000

9332

12.33

150

1030

1,622

72.85

35. Chile

Americas

14,864,456

16318

109.78

700

430

386

72.65

36. Peru

Americas

15,674,241

33320

212.58

170

350

2,124

72.23

37. Bolivia

Americas

4,843,916

16287

336.24

130

420

1,609

72.02

38. Spain

Europe

42,400,756

43407

102.37

690

630

125

71.82

39. Latvia

Europe

1,585,471

6331

399.31

600

720

9

71.17

40. United Kingdom

Europe

65,001,016

69703

107.23

680

750

38

71.19

41. Portugal

Europe

7,622,142

13118

172.10

690

550

107

70.98

42. Ireland

Europe

4,024,552

18892

469.42

540

440

92

70.53

43. Kazakhstan

Asia

13,913,699

6734

48.40

920

1,070

13

70.32

44. Poland

Europe

34,697,848

56630

163.21

700

480

384

70.09

45. India

Asia

836,860,000

25486

3.05

490

1,360

600

70.09

46. Slovakia

Europe

4,446,926

12271

275.94

710

570

22

70.09

47. Italy

Europe

50,540,000

27129

53.68

810

640

309

69.66

48. United Arab Emirates

Asia

8,913,217

17108

191.94

150

500

2,440

69.21

49. Albania

Europe

2,105,339

12530

595.15

260

260

2,384

67.88

50. Netherlands

Europe

15,877,494

17892

112.69

610

1,120

29

67.66

51. Uruguay

Americas

2,910,000

5259

180.72

80

730

2,477

67.66

52. Turkey

Europe

69,945,905

4964

7.10

740

620

2,907

67.42

53. Jordan

Asia

6,480,202

14174

218.73

110

700

1,701

67.44

54. Hungary

Europe

7,461,297

8129

108.95

750

710

182

67.21

55. Brazil

Americas

165,300,000

77463

46.86

700

790

727

67.19

56. Slovenia

Europe

1,640,893

5553

338.41

750

420

222

66.99

57. Thailand

Asia

54,043,108

41504

76.80

320

730

2,829

66.29

58. Nepal

Asia

16,190,000

8552

52.82

640

890

558

66.29

59. Saudi Arabia

Asia

34,840,000

156353

448.77

160

600

1,382

66.07

60. Denmark

Europe

5,407,278

24106

445.81

830

570

19

66.05

61. Morocco

Africa

22,072,765

7665

34.73

500

1000

1,603

66.09

62. Algeria

Africa

26,350,000

4401

16.70

310

1170

3,262

65.36

63. Australia

Oceania

21,159,515

52467

247.96

720

670

66

65.38

64. Vietnam

Asia

68,172,134

17595

25.81

630

780

3,115

64.44

65. Belarus

Europe

7,048,231

4692

66.57

1230

1,170

22

64.42

66. Ukraine

Europe

32,900,000

25820

78.48

1910

1,220

16

62.77

67. United States

Americas

307,200,000

457811

149.03

860

1320

13

62.77

68. Indonesia

Asia

196,000,000

20678

10.55

1080

1,040

643

62.53

69. South Africa

Africa

31,858,027

21883

68.69

940

840

446

62.27

70. Oman

Asia

3,717,818

40394

1086.50

180

480

3,116

61.79

71. Kenya

Africa

8,861,485

53195

600.29

350

870

620

57.42

72. Croatia

Europe

2,811,056

20369

724.60

750

340

2,105

56.63

73. Romania

Europe

12,545,558

14804

118.00

1040

720

1,435

56.08

74. Lithuania

Europe

2,243,448

12580

560.74

1010

840

38

55.83

75. Malaysia

Asia

25,343,685

26942

106.31

740

900

1,557

55.52

76. Serbia

Europe

6,182,411

10733

173.61

780

790

1,467

53.85

77. Bulgaria

Europe

4,492,326

7520

167.40

1220

1,170

430

51.82

78. Tunisia

Africa

6,400,330

27451

428.90

310

930

5,588

50.97

79. Singapore

Asia

4,821,119

15708

325.82

780

2,160

204

50.35

80. Panama

Americas

2,371,852

4539

191.37

1560

1150

461

48.50

81. Cyprus

Asia

952,369

3846

403.84

1730

1,280

400

43.19