As we enter another year of the pandemic, employees working from home and in the office has become the norm across many industries. This hybrid work model greatly increases the attack surface for threat actors to exploit. Thus, the beginning of the new year, when many reevaluate organizational strategies, may be a good time to review existing cyber defenses in regard to the hybrid work environment. Email and enterprise-grade tools/applications could be a good place to start.
- Given that email is a leading attack vector in which many businesses are compromised, one strategy could be to reduce your organization’s reliance on email. For instance, organizations can switch to a more secure channel-based-messaging app such as Teams, Slack, etc.
- Another hazard of the hybrid work model is the increase in “shadow-IT” – the propensity for employees to find their own solutions (without regard for security). Proactively providing employees with enterprise-grade tools and applications before they find their own, enables organizations to implement more secure solutions. Some benefits of enterprise-grade programs include Enterprise Key Management, audit logs, and encrypted communications.
