Cyber-attacks constantly evolve, capitalizing on new approaches. The sudden switch to work from home and employees accessing the corporate network via a home network opens up a multitude of unknown attack vectors.
IT security teams are spending an increasingly more significant portion of their time addressing security issues. Threats to IT infrastructure security have never taken longer to eliminate. The units are spending more time handling IT security threats and developing new security protocols. It’s not just due to hackers and criminals becoming smarter; it’s also due to the pandemic moving the majority of the workloads online and issues posed by Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Bring Your Own Access (BYOA) initiatives.
The increased complexities of BYOD and BYOA work environments combined with development in cyber-attacks have increasingly monopolized IT professionals’ attention. They now have to protect their employees’ devices too, along with the organization’s IT infrastructure.
The focus is primarily on data breaches, but at the same time, there is a need to juggle various malware threats, ransomware, and risky employee behaviours. The top IT security concerns include data breaches, insufficient remote access / VPN capacity, malware, employee behaviour, and ransomware.
Resource Constraints
With cloud technology and adoption soaring over the years, fear of cloud data security breaches has increased significantly. The most significant impact that the pandemic has had on the IT security industry is an increased appetite for cloud-based IT security solutions.
Read More: Escalating Security Concerns in the Post-COVID World
This is predominantly driven by the massive increase in remote workers and the non-availability of IT security personnel available on-site, to install and maintain on-premises security appliances.
The top-three technology investments that are majorly used to address pandemic-fuelled challenges include cloud-based secure web gateway (SWG), cloud-based secure email gateway (SEG), and cloud-based next-generation firewall (NGFW).
Integration is the goal that CIOs and CSOs are working towards. Getting one’s ducks in a row could paint a clearer picture to understand the security risks and vulnerabilities.
Cybersecurity Awareness and Security Training
Companies are continually looking into potential solutions to their cybersecurity issues. Often external threats are successful because of an insider threat; the weakest link in data protection could be the employees.
Employees must understand network security. They should be able to identify risks. It’s also important to know who to contact to avoid a security breach. There should be security training throughout the year, with constant updates. There are new security risks every day.
Read More: Why Threat Intelligence Needs a Multi-Vendor Strategy
Constantly Evolving Risks
Companies desperately need to integrate cybersecurity measures as a critical asset. It does not just concern the tech; it’s also about business continuity. Vulnerabilities in the companies’ infrastructure can compromise both the current financial situation and endanger its future.
Multifariousness specific to current malware is impossible to tackle thoroughly. Its strength is that it can continuously change, making it difficult for anti-malware programs to detect it, making it essential for companies to have an extra layer of protection, along with the antivirus solution.
Automation is crucial in companies, given the sheer volume of threats that CSOs and CIOs need to deal with. Criminals are all automated, and the best way for companies to counter that is also to use automation and AI to find those vulnerabilities. Sometimes there is a need to build even higher castle walls and deeper moats.
