Over the past few months, we’ve written numerous articles on hybrid working and the various factors to consider while adopting it. In today’s article, let’s explore the risks associated with devices, employees, and technology—cyber risk!

If your organisation has adopted the Hybrid Working Model, it is essential to recognise the cybersecurity risks that can harm its intellectual property. Here are some of the most common cyber threats in a hybrid workplace:

MONITORING REMOTE WORKSPACES IS HARDER

When employees work from the office, they are all protected by the same network defences. The IT department adopts control and recognises when unauthorised actors are trying to access the network. However, this is not the case when people work remotely. Weak Wi-Fi, shared laptops, lack of firewalls and anti-virus software, and weak passwords leave weak points for cyber-criminals to exploit.

DISTRACTIONS

Remote workers are more exposed to distractions from family members or social media, so they are more likely to click on malicious links. Did you know that Google registered 2 million phishing websites in 2020 alone? This shows that one distracted move from a remote worker can instantly result in a breach, causing damage to themselves and their company.

STOLEN DEVICES AND DOCUMENTS

Irish firms and individuals lose over €400 million annually due to lost or stolen electronic gadgets. If not protected with strong passwords or remote wipe features, these laptops, smartphones, and tablets could expose important corporate and financial data.

Despite the popularity of digital technologies, there is also a massive risk of losing important paper documents that can reveal sensitive data to cyber-criminals.

TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES

According to the Cloud Industry Forum research, 41% of employers think remote work is still less secure than office work. The absence of real-time visibility and missed patching cycles are two significant challenges for the security of virtual teams. Moreover, a hybrid workplace requires more data shuffling between remote employees, cloud servers, and employees who work in the office. This level of complexity requires careful management and monitoring. 

WAYS TO MANAGE CYBER RISK IN A HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT

Here are a few things you can do to address the concerns mentioned above:

PROVIDE A COMPANY VPN

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, ensures that information is encrypted as it travels across networks, mitigating the risk of a third party intercepting it. A VPN is the most practical option for remote or hybrid teams to ensure data privacy. It can be used anywhere and doesn’t need different security controls based on where employees are working.

ACCESS CONTROL

User authentication is the most important part of any security strategy, especially in a remote or hybrid environment. Every organisation should follow best practices such as unique passwords, password managers, and multi-factor authentication.

EMPLOYEE AWARENESS

Educating your staff about cybersecurity will ensure that they are aware of phishing tactics and best practices for working remotely and in the office. Discussing the importance of healthy password practices and safe web usage will instil a security-minded culture among employees.