Bottom Line: Secure mobile work requires Zero-Trust architecture and technical controls, not primarily better training for uncertain employees.
Mobile work in cafés and airports poses considerable security risks that cannot be managed through training alone. Organizations must compensate through technical measures such as Zero-Trust architectures for what employees cannot achieve in insecure environments.
Andreas Steinböck, Head of Business Management at Ingram Micro, points out in an interview that while mobile work has become routine, security risks are systematically underestimated. Employees working in public WLAN networks are exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks, packet sniffing, and the risk of compromised access points.
The central problem lies in a shift of responsibility: companies appeal to employee awareness and training without creating the technical prerequisites. Proper hygiene — mandatory VPN, multi-factor authentication, network segmentation — is non-negotiable. A hardware setup for secure remote work requires encrypted connections, updated systems, and endpoint protection, not solely individual discipline.
Zero-Trust models offer a way out: every connection is verified, regardless of network location. This means not just VPN, but continuous identity verification, device compliance checks, and continuous monitoring. For CISOs, this represents a shift from the question “How do we train better?” to “How do we reduce trust failures in the architecture?”. The first line of defense remains the human being — but not through appeals, but through technical frameworks that make mistakes forgivable.
Source: itwelt.at · Published 17 July 2026
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