EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
ALAIN PENEL , REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT MEA , FORTINET
With a fully remote workforce , this traditional model is no longer applicable since both legitimate users and potential threats connect to resources from outside of the network and may work at odd hours .
Creating a culture of security and establishing a new , updated cybersecurity strategy is critical for organisations moving with hybrid workforce models . This means implementing the tools needed to help advance business and security objectives , from multi-factor authentication to SD-WAN . In turn , these solutions will also enable businesses to be more productive . Building out a robust cybersecurity plan for a hybrid workforce starts by identifying user types and establishing controls that protect the systems , networks , software and data they need for their jobs . As part of a hybrid workplace cybersecurity strategy , organisations should also think about ways to better enforce authorisation and authentication policies . For example , multi-factor authentication makes it more difficult for a cybercriminal to compromise user accounts and passwords in a credential theft attack .
The Coronavirus pandemic has presented us with a unique , double-pronged view of change . It is both reshaping and redefining how business gets done , enabled by the trajectory of Digital Transformation that began long before COVID-19 forced organisations to rethink their strategies for the purpose of Business Continuity .
As an example , permanently shifting a portion of the workforce from centralised offices to home offices help reduce capital costs like climate control , office infrastructure and rent or building loans . These cost savings can then be used to fund the necessary technology and cybersecurity costs associated with the ‘ new normal ’ of managing an expansive remote workforce .
Under normal circumstances , many organisations rely upon a perimeter-based security model . Under which , anyone inside the network is considered trusted , while outside parties are potentially malicious . This enables an organisation to identify anomalous connection attempts based upon the location and timestamp ( since most workers operate during normal business hours ). With a fully remote workforce , this traditional model is no longer applicable since both legitimate users and potential threats connect to resources from outside of the network and may work at odd hours . Additionally , when employees are working remotely , the probability of an unauthorised users gaining access to and control over an employee ’ s devices is higher .
Because of this , anything on a home network that connects out to the Internet is a potential conduit for bad actors . Super users tend to not only have access to mission-critical corporate resources but are more likely to be high-value individuals prone to targeted attacks . Hence , super users working remotely need a secure island completely firewalled off from the rest of the home network and a secure connection back to the office . The added security , however , must be balanced with super users ’ needs for higher connectivity .
Employees seem to prefer remote work – a recent report from Pew Research found that about half of those surveyed would like to stay remote , at least part-time , even after the pandemic . And it ’ s not just more users requesting access outside the traditional perimeter . Indeed , the new normal is characterised by a much more distributed and disaggregated enterprise ecosystem . This not only expands the perimeter but permanently changes enterprise networking , requiring a stronger focus on broad , integrated and automated solutions .
28 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com