2020 will forever be known as the year when business changed for good. With remote processes and collaboration ease setting the tone for what was a terrible year, we have yet to see whether these business-based shifts could be a silver lining. Luckily, with 99% of people still reporting that they’d prefer to work remotely part-time past the pandemic, early indications are positive.
What’s not so positive, perhaps, is the fact that the FBI has told us of 400% increases in daily cyber-attacks throughout 2020 alone. In many ways this increase in unsurprising in an age where business infrastructures are changing and inevitable security holes are creeping in. But, businesses need to plug those gaps fast if they’re to avoid the escalating costs and reputational damage that an attack even now could bring. After all, few companies could afford either this year!
Luckily, countless companies are managing to stay above even this unknown cybersecurity landscape, and some are even doing so with ease. Here, we’re going to look at the methods they’re implementing, and why you could benefit from doing the same.
# 1 – Turning to outsourced IT services
When there’s no ‘house’ to work from as such, what even is in-house IT, anyway? Would a disjointed tech team who are entirely unversed for this current climate really be able to save you? We don’t think so, which is why the first point on this list is to turn to an outside it support company that can offer you the expertise you need. While no one could prepare for what’s changed in business of late, a dedicated IT company is at least working on the front line, learning new risks and trends by heart in a way that limited in-house capabilities will forever struggle to match.
What’s more, IT companies provide the significant benefit of 24/7 support and monitoring, making it a whole lot harder for breaches to happen when your team is snuggled up in bed. And, of course, even outside of the security sphere, IT services are invaluable for helping you to find new ways to make your increasingly tech-based infrastructure work.
# 2 – Endpoint security
Whether you’re making security work in-house or are seeking assistance from elsewhere, you’ll likely hear the buzzword endpoint security at some stage. After all, in a landscape where bring your own device is a standard working model, companies simply can’t risk security that’s rooted in every single smartphone or laptop.
Enter endpoint security, which centers around your networks, rather than each unique device gaining access. Typically based in the cloud, this method is the best way to bridge potential security openings from the entry points of remote devices.
This brings the significant benefit of ensuring that you needn’t worry about the protections your team members have in place. Rather, you can place all business data and communications within that one encrypted endpoint network, and tackle security matters with ease from your own home office.
# 3 – Knowledge is key
While it may not seem as pressing as the other points mentioned, advancing your knowledge of this changing security landscape is one of the best things for helping you to put out fires. And that’s the case whether you’re outsourcing or keeping security close to your chest.
After all, while traditional cyberattacks like malware are behind many increases here, they’re no longer alone on the front line of attack. Most notably, experts have spotted an almost doubling in DDoS (distributed-denial of service) attacks. Worse, these issues are far more difficult to protect against as they can be carried out by one or many malicious devices crashing your servers. Motivations for these attacks vary, with competition one of the main driving forces, but the downtime that these will cost you is guaranteed bad news when tech quite literally keeps the business train running.
To some extent, outsourcing can help you here because it’ll mean working with IT experts who can work with you to develop a plan using their pre-existing knowledge of these issues. But, knowing signs to look out for yourself is still fundamental. With all this in mind and the risks that companies face evolving on an almost daily basis, a subscription to some form of cybersecurity news is non-negotiable.
A final word
Cybersecurity has certainly changed but, as you can see, it’s no cause for alarm. Rather, now is the time to face these challenges head-on, and integrate a safe remote landscape that can last you through the pandemic and beyond.
