How often have you heard the line ‘the pandemic has changed the way we work forever?
Remote working has gone from an occasional benefit to a permanent reality. Yet many businesses haven’t changed since we first went into lockdown. Now, people working from their kitchen tables are posing a massive threat to the company’s cybersecurity.
In a rush to get up and running, ‘near enough is good enough’ was the mantra as employees began working from home. Now that we’ve settled into the ‘new normal’, whether that’s a hybrid working model or having employees working from home full-time, the approach to cybersecurity and protecting data has to be as robust as it was when everyone was together in an office.
Cyber attacks are on the rise and cybercriminals are more sophisticated than ever.
While employees take advantage of the flexibility that remote working offers, so are cybercriminals. Cases of cyber and phishing attacks have dramatically increased, and the average recovery cost after a data security breach has more than doubled to a whopping $1.85m, according to findings from Sophos.
Cyber attackers are shifting their priorities to take advantage of lax security protocols and the added risks created by mobile working. Ransomware should no longer be the sole focus, and IT leaders should instead focus on a wider range of threats.
A data security breach can be more costly than you might think.
Too many business owners avoid investing in robust data security solutions because of time, cost and potential disruption to their business. However, this approach only leads to more significant issues should cybercriminals be lurking.
While financial impacts are one consideration, the damage to your reputation as a business can be a lot harder to repair. News of data and security breaches can cause a loss of clients, a loss of income and in some cases, even a loss of staff. In severe cases, there are also breaches of data protection laws to consider, and the cost to an organisation should sensitive information hit the public domain.
Virtual Desk Environments are the future.
On the surface, the cloud seems like the easiest way to secure your data while employees work from home. However, if your employees can easily access your IP from anywhere in the country, you best believe that cybercriminals can, too – even with two-factor authentication.
VPNs have become a popular way to establish secure connections between in-office desktops and home devices. They’re quick to set up and relatively cost-effective. However, it’s a solution only accessible to businesses with the added infrastructure.
Establishing a Virtual Desktop Environment is the most secure way to safeguard your mobile workforce. This essentially allows employees to log in and work from their desktops from anywhere in the world without having to store data on a device or in the cloud. This solution creates the perfect balance of ultra-secure and ultra-productive mobile working.
Our clients are already seeing great success using Virtual Desktop Environments, although we never rely on a set-and-forget approach. Technology advances at a lightning pace, as do threats to your IT security. So, it’s crucial to be proactive and ensure preventative measures align with the industry’s current state.
All of our managed IT services clients undergo quarterly reviews allowing us to stay ahead of trends and perform necessary updates to keep their IT security framework in check. This proactive approach is the key to avoiding critical situations and eliminating any causes for concern.
If you’d like to know more about securing your mobile workforce, please reach out to our team of IT experts.
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