As businesses move away from traditional brick-and-mortar work cultures and embrace more efficient hybrid work models, important questions have been raised regarding the security of IT infrastructure. Long gone are the days when leaving cybersecurity-related duties to IT departments sufficed as a cybersecurity strategy.
As more organizations realize an increased dependency on IT, concrete cybersecurity strategies are needed in the fight against rapidly evolving hacker tactics. Businesses must take a collaborative and proactive stance that incorporates all stakeholders.
Upgrade Your Systems to Match the Demands of Your Hybrid Workforce
Adopting a security-first culture means upgrading incumbent cybersecurity practices that don’t conform to modern IT challenges. For example, the introduction of password management platforms offers centralized password management as a replacement for antique spreadsheets and sticky notes as password storage.
Where on-premises infrastructure has been relied upon for decades, switch to cloud-based SaaS applications and remote data storage options. Generally, cloud-based infrastructure offers flexible and secure data access for both office-bound and remote employees.
Often with a hybrid team, it’s more difficult to authenticate user access requests with absolute certainty. For this reason, many organizations are embracing the zero-trust architecture. The fundamental concept behind the Zero-Trust framework is centered on the belief that organizations should not automatically trust anything or anyone trying to access the network, whether inside or outside the organization’s perimeters.
Anyone trying to access the system no matter their clearance level must verify their identity before they can be granted access.
Streamline Communication to Prevent Confusion
In the wake of rapidly evolving security threats, information security departments have been forced to adapt quickly. Often, this leads to disparate, conflicting information disbursed to both on-prem and hybrid teams across your organization.
Even simple password policies may sometimes be riddled with conflicting requirements. So much so, that employees are left overwhelmed with information.
At the very least, define the communication and support channels for your hybrid team. Every staff member should know when and how to raise an alarm, whom to escalate suspicious activity to, and their immediate response strategy for intervention.
Stick to specific communication channels; for instance, instant messaging applications such as Slack can be used to instantly notify rapid response teams whenever suspicious activity is detected. Aim to respond to email support tickets in the shortest time possible.
Obtain Buy-In from Senior Leadership
Hard facts and numbers appeal to senior leadership. In April 2024 alone, over 5 million records were breached globally, with IT services & software and healthcare accounting for the largest portion of these attacks. Not to mention, a single data breach can cost organizations to the tune of $4.88 million, and rising.
While scary, these numbers can help senior leadership realize the potentially devastating aftermath of a data breach. Cybersecurity threats pose significant risks to the short and long-term survival of the organization. And since senior management has the duty to act in the organization’s best interests, they’re responsible for ensuring the proper implementation of policies and adequate systems and controls.
Building new organizational cultures starts at the top; i.e., from senior management, and trickles down to individual employees. For new policies to take root, senior leadership must be involved to clear any roadblocks and influence decisions across the organization. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) must take on the role of explaining the developments in your organization’s cybersecurity posture and seek senior leadership buy-in for additional support.
Conduct Regular Employee Awareness Training
No one will argue with the fact that employees are key players in your organization’s cybersecurity culture. However, with most people initially resistant to change, information security specialists often have a long task ahead of them when it comes to incorporating the rest of the workforce into the organization’s cybersecurity strategy.
Remote employees – like other employees – are overwhelmed with their core duties and may view cybersecurity roles as non-essential to what they were hired to do.
Information security officers, with access to a diverse range of learning material (including phishing kits, automated breach simulations, and video training material), should provide regular training to keep employees updated on the latest hacker tactics.
Train your employees to identify and report phishing attacks, ransomware, brute-force password attacks, and social engineering. The more your employees know, the greater their contribution to your organization’s cybersecurity initiatives.
Consider soliciting the services of a managed IT provider. On top of cybersecurity, third-party managed IT services can equip your business with advanced resources and expertise to face off against modern IT challenges.
Regardless, it’s worth pointing out that change takes time and won’t happen overnight.
Conclusion
Building and maintaining a security-first culture in a hybrid work environment is no easy feat. You need skilled staff, 24/7 support staff, and advanced tools and these come at an extra cost without a managed IT service.
At BoomTech, our cybersecurity team can help you develop compact security and data protection controls, proactively securing your infrastructure against malicious actors.
Ready to get started? Call us today and take the first step towards a secure future.
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Hear from Philipp Baumann, owner and founder of BoomTech:
