Strategies to ensure cybersecurity aligns with 2021 business objectives
The remote working model has meant more organisations have had to adapt to a hybrid workforce and creating a culture of security while building an updated cybersecurity strategy is critical . Alain Sanchez , EMEA CISO and Senior Evangelist at Fortinet , discusses some key ways to build out a robust cybersecurity plan for a hybrid workforce .
Every new year brings new possibilities . Businesses take the time to evaluate strategies for staying successful , new ways to meet customer expectations and most importantly , opportunities to enhance their security .
It ’ s easy to define 2020 as ‘ The year the IT landscape changed ’, but that only tells half the story . The shift to largely remote business environments meant adding new applications to the IT stack , securing new endpoints and shifting legacy technologies to the cloud when possible . Often , this meant delaying new product lines or services . This year , however , looks to be ‘ The year of IT security maturity ’. Now that companies are returning to a new normal , they can refocus their cybersecurity strategies to align with new business objectives and hybrid workforce models .
Challenges of the hybrid workforce
Organisations with employees who mostly worked in corporate offices tended to rely on firewalls to protect against cyberthreats . But amid the widespread shift to remote work , many organisations invested in VPNs to mitigate the same risks . In these cases ,
Alain Sanchez , EMEA CISO and Senior Evangelist at Fortinet security teams dealt with a nearly ‘ all or nothing ’ approach . A hybrid workforce impacts this approach in three significant ways : 1 . The evolution of identity management : Identity has long been considered the perimeter that will protect corporate data from unauthorised users , whether they be cybercriminals or former employees . But considering the influx of new devices and Software-as-a- Service-based ( SaaS ) applications being accessed by users daily , this philosophy is no longer enough to protect critical
information . As business models shift and workforces become more hybrid , security teams will need to implement strategies that can keep up .
2 . Constantly changing connectivity needs : While SaaS applications help workers connect with resources and collaborate , they can also slow down corporate networks . With a hybrid workforce , optimising connectivity becomes even more difficult . When dealing with a mostly on-premises workforce , organisations can easily determine their bandwidth usage and plan accordingly . But with a hybrid workforce , these connectivity needs are continually changing as workers shift between in-office and remote environments . With this in mind , organisations must deploy solutions that optimise resources as effectively as possible while still ensuring security .
3 . Managing the human element : Regardless of whether organisations operate on an in-office , remote , or hybrid business model , their employees will always be the first and last lines of defence . According to Interpol , approximately two-thirds of member
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