EDITOR’S COMMENT
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses across all
sectors and has been one of the greatest disruptors of the
modern age, changing the way we live and work. The GCC
countries were quick to implement remote working to fight the
spread of the outbreak, and this may well become the new norm for
the region, as remote working and virtual collaboration are expected
to increase in the post COVID-19 era.
While digital connectivity and agility ensure Business Continuity
during the pandemic, they can also foster opportunities for
cybercriminals looking to capitalise on this uncertain situation. To
date, Proofpoint has recorded over 300 COVID-19-themed threat
campaigns. As the pandemic has occurred over a number of weeks
and remains an area of concern worldwide, the overall collective
volume of lures only continues to increase.
Since cybercriminals are increasingly targeting people more than
infrastructure, cybersecurity teams need to recognise the importance
of a human centric approach by ensuring employees understand
the new threats they face and how to deal with them. The most
effective way is putting in place a robust cybersecurity strategy that
encompasses security awareness training as an integral part of the
transition to home working.
While some might say ‘old habits die hard’, it’s important to
recognise that remote working might be a new reality that will persist
for many businesses until further notice, and this means that people
must be educated on important elements that need to be taken into
consideration when working remotely, one of them being security. At
the end of the day, remote working can often mean that you are not
protected by the same safeguards your office has in place.
Therefore, transparency and clear communication will be two
important elements to be part of the mindset-shift of companies
following the pandemic. Organisations need to be active listeners and
take into consideration their employees’ feedback and foster crossfunctional
interaction among everyone.
This includes encouraging remote workers to connect with IT
departments, ensure they are using a secure Wi-Fi connection,
EMILE ABOU SALEH, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
AT PROOFPOINT
company VPN, strong passwords and that
they understand security policies.
Unarguably, the pandemic situation will
bring a change in the way organisations
approach security awareness by including
their employees in their cyberthreat
mitigation plans. Only when users
understand their role in cyberdefence, are
they likely to take it seriously. While some
might call this period ‘unprecedented’, this is
actually the ‘new normal’ and organisations
need to embrace it to stay prepared. •
While some might say
‘old habits die hard’, it’s
important to recognise
that remote working
might be a new reality
that will persist for
many businesses until
further notice.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS Issue 30
17