Look around any 21st century workplace and you're likely to see vacant desks, due to employees working remotely. What was seen as a trend only a few years ago has become commonplace in most businesses. But the employee benefit of allowing employees to work remotely has potential risks to an organization.

Having a detailed remote work policy is a necessity, says a new executive report from RIMS, "Risk Management & Remote Work Policies."

The report notes that among the advantages are cost savings for both the employer and the employee, better retention of talent and a wider pool of potential employees. Among the risks, confidentiality and privacy concerns are some of the most important. Although the major public cyber attacks on organizations have not stemmed from remote workers, the exposure exists. By involving the IT department in creating the policy, the organization can ensure that important details such as the way critical information is saved—on a shared and protected network as opposed to the remote employee's desktop, personal computer or a thumb-drive—are not overlooked.