24.06.2020 Tim Kirk, Founder and CEO of SureCity Networks, discusses Cyber and Network Security in the post COVID 19 era.
The past few months have presented unprecedented challenges for many businesses, namely in the rapid digital transformation required of many companies, their networks, and the larger risk of ensuring online activities are kept secure. ‘Information is the new digital currency’, explains Kirk. ‘We are seeing a big increase in online hacking attempts across our clients and the wider industry. The reality is that hackers don’t switch on and hack you between nine and five – it’s a 24-hour constant threat.’
However there have been positives to come out of the rapid digital transformation many businesses have undergone, explains Kirk ‘‘One of the positives to come out of companies moving to a ‘work from anywhere’ strategy is that the VPN gateway is actually a much more secure strategy than many office environments.” Kirk argues that whilst the endpoint environment may not be secure, such as working in a coffee shop or home, the set up is ultimately more secure.
So what are some of the key areas businesses need to consider to ensure their businesses are safe and secure?
Moving a remote work force back to a mixed environment.
As many businesses start planning to reintegrate their teams back into an office environment, there is an opportunity to deploy the same level of visibility that is afforded when a ‘work from anywhere’ gateway is established. Moving a secure remote work force that sits on a ‘work from anywhere’ gateway back to an internal environment where perhaps there is no detailed network segmentation and internal visibility, provides an important opportunity for many businesses to evaluate and implement.
Review work from anywhere policies
Ask yourself these three questions:
- What worked well during the three months of forced remote work for your users;
- What didn’t work as well as it does in the Office environment; and
- What additional training do we need to provide to our users.
Zero Trust versus Visibility
Many CIOs think ‘working from anywhere’ increases the risk exposure. The reality is that if the endpoint is trusted with the right processes and tools this can be a more secure environment than in the office.
If you’ve managed to reintegrate your work force using the benefits of a secure remote VPN then you’re also in a position to implement a zero trust policy.
