Managing IT security has never been so critical for organisations. Security teams are more burdened than ever before. They are the frontline workers of your businesses – the first line of defence against a harmful and invisible threat. We are continually changing where and how we work, how we communicate with our teams, and access data and applications. The upsurge in remote working has led to a significant increase in the attack surface, leaving organisations exposed to increased vulnerabilities. Teams are now remote and more distributed, and you need to protect your company’s and your customer’s data without slowing your users down. SMBs are particularly vulnerable, often working with limited budgets and resources and many were not ready for a change of the magnitude brought about by the pandemic. Remember when “working from home” was a perk that employees got to do a couple of Fridays a month? Now it’s what keeps your business running. One thing is certain; hybrid and remote working is very much here to stay.
The lack of ability to plan and the subsequent scramble to adapt has left many businesses dangerously exposed. Let’s face it; the world of cybersecurity was hugely complex in terms of understanding the challenges and threats even before the pandemic. How do you ever know whether you are proactively managing all security threats? Are you now patching and securing a much greater number of endpoints? Do you know which vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited?
Before the pandemic, organisations were accelerating digitisation and shifting to cloud-based applications. Undoubtedly there are many benefits to doing that as employees can access the systems and applications they need to work from anywhere. Still, the increased use of personal, unmanaged devices poses a significant data security risk. At the end of 2020, various reports showed a 600% global increase in phishing and malware attacks. That needs to be counteracted with an equal measure of security investment, preparation, and staff awareness training. The adoption of effective security solutions needs to accelerate across all organisations. Enterprises may be able to improvise and pivot quickly when it comes to other corporate challenges, but it’s a different ball game when it comes to securing the modern workforce. You haven’t come this far and survived this long to be taken out at the 11th hour by a significant data breach.
Larger corporates may be better at defending themselves, but cyber risk management is still an enduring problem for all organisations. Each business has a unique risk profile. Threats and vulnerabilities materialise on a second-by-second basis, and this new strain of adversaries is adapting to weaknesses faster than they are being addressed. There is a new variant of scams and complex attacks.
The rapid pace of change and the evolving threat landscape will always point to an increasing number of attacks. Many organisations struggle to obtain quality information from vast volumes of threat data, and it isn’t easy to know what to prioritise and what to ignore. Gartner predicts a rise in investment in threat intelligence and privileged access management (PAM) in the post-pandemic era. Securing a modern and distributed workforce is critical but it doesn’t have to be a headache.
Heimdal is a trusted industry expert, helping SMBs and enterprise customers manage their risk and secure their data through a unified cybersecurity suite. The challenge is how to maximise output but also maintain security. Heimdal offers a layered approach that covers multiple attack vectors. Boosting productivity and endpoint security are made simple with uniquely adapted PAM solutions. A platform approach to threat detection and response for both endpoints and the network powered by machine learning algorithms and automated patch management solutions takes the stress away from patching, deploying, and managing assets. These are a suite of business products that work and make life much more comfortable. Who doesn’t need a bit of that right now? Everything you need to keep your business one step ahead.
The way we work will never be the same. We have exceeded the realms of both what is acceptable and possible when it comes to keeping our businesses operational. Keeping them secure is our new reality in this new era where prevention is every bit better than cure.
In Part 2 of this mini-blog series on securing the modern workforce, we’ll be looking at six essential strategies to enhance your security posture and taking a deeper dive into Heimdal’s versatile security suite.
