Dolly Parton and the dark side of hybrid working
The cyber security aspects of a secure remote workforce
The cyber security aspects of a secure remote workforce
As Dolly Parton sang, “with folks like me on the job from 9 to 5”, things were all a bit more predictable for IT teams then. Network bandwidth could be optimised during normal office hours, systems could be “switched off for the night”, and security was mostly confined to the comfortable surroundings of the LAN.
Then along came the cloud and the pandemic, and everything changed. The devices that users use, the hours they work, the locations they expect to work from. This can mean innocent use of public Wi-Fi networks in a café or airport, through to a lost device putting sensitive corporate information at risk.
As security teams grapple with devices, passwords and remote networks, the cyber security risk assessment for many organisations remains unclear.
From password management to endpoint security, an holistic approach to cyber security is essential. To be effective, this strategy should encompass devices, infrastructure such as networks and the cloud, and applications.
The fourth factor – the dark side of hybrid working – is people and their behaviours. Even honest employees represent risk through innocent behaviours such as weak passwords, using unauthorised cloud applications, inadvertent data sharing, lost devices, or many more potential pitfalls.
Just like all things good, hybrid working comes at a price, as many organisations are learning – many through the hardest way possible having been targeted with a cyber attack directly. But with the benefits to business so high in terms of productivity, staff retention, recruitment and the bottom line revenue, the answer lies in better cyber security, not shutting the doors to modern, hybrid ways of working.
The Cloud Community features a range of cyber security guidance for SMEs, including this 5-step plan from the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence community.
Find out how to allow employees to work efficiently and securely, and seamlessly connect them to necessary tools, while providing IT complete control and oversight over business access points.
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