The rise of remote working has opened up a security loophole in many organisations that now needs closing to defend diverse, hybridised environments, Stormshield has warned.
Maxime Nempont, technical leader – security at cybersecurity leader Stormshield, explains that around one in four firms surveyed report making “cybersecurity concessions” to ensure business continuity.
This has increased issues for organisations through the Covid-related disruptions of 2020-2022 as staff and whole teams were suddenly required to work from home.
“For companies unused to teleworking, everything had to be built from scratch. Some had to make security compromises on certain aspects,” Nempoint explains. “It’s time to take stock.”
Additionally, some companies had a lack of available IT equipment and were forced to accept that employees may work from their own computers — without prior vetting to ensure effective security measures.
Adrien Brochot, product manager at Stormshield, agrees.
“Many companies have had to learn on the job — [although] remote working remains a complex issue for organisations in sensitive sectors such as defence or banking, which have a strong culture of professional secrecy,” Brochot says.
“More generally, for all organisations, the issue of data protection has become essential.”
At the same time, the average employee can struggle to keep abreast of his or her company’s security issues or — worse still — simply not want to be bothered about it.
How forward-thinking firms will step up in 2022
This year offers a chance to deal with any cybersecurity hangovers from the latest race to sustain businesses.
Routes to success include implementing better network, endpoint and data cybersecurity solutions, policies and practices and, in addition, having IT teams work more closely with HR to guide employees.
“When teleworking, workstations are more exposed, which means that IT teams face an additional challenge in protecting these workstations, which are no longer in a trusted environment,” notes Nempont.
“Strict firewall rules must be established and all traffic must be routed through the company’s network.”
Stormshield focuses on working closely with trusted partners to deliver on customer requirements — with effective, robust cybersecurity solutions that build confidence and resilience.
( Photo by Joe deSousa on Unsplash )