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Staying Cyber Safe In A Hybrid Culture

Forbes Technology Council

Apu Pavithran is the founder and CEO of Hexnode, an award-winning Unified Endpoint Management platform.

As companies allow employees to connect from home with increasing frequency, executives must prioritize their cybersecurity infrastructure. The hybrid work culture — in which we work from home some days and go into the office other days — faces a double challenge, as there's the need to establish a flawless cybersecurity infrastructure in the office and at home.

With the increasing number of threats (Google registered more than 2 million phishing sites in 2020), employees need to avoid risks. At the same time, they must also learn about the necessary software and monitoring centers needed to be put in place to prevent any missteps from the very beginning. This is the kind of challenge that represents responsibility.

Home Isn't That Safe, But Education Helps

At this point in the "new reality," we should've already understood that when employees work from their own private space, they encounter tons of benefits, but they're also exposed to a myriad of risks. Let’s start with the basics of cybersecurity: Firewalls, VPNs, antivirus software and other security solutions need to be set as the bare minimum. But, even if you're very aware of this, it can’t be a one-time installation. These features need to be updated constantly.

When we all worked from the office, IT departments controlled these essential security standards. All computers, VPNs, firewalls and antivirus solutions were at the company’s headquarters. But now that people are starting to come and go to the office, IT departments need to be, somehow, in every employee's house, which is impossible.

So, one of the first things to do when your company is starting to implement a hybrid culture is to educate every employee on this subject. You need to delegate cybersecurity to each of them because they're uniquely responsible for the company's safety. That includes, for example, updating the firewall.

To achieve higher levels of security, communication is paramount. Be sure that your staff understands all the how-tos so you can ensure cybersecurity. Organizing meetings between teams and the IT department and creating easy tutorials accessible for everyone at any time helps people feel they can work safely and peacefully. This way, you'll be able to include cybersecurity in the company’s culture.

Four Essential Tips To Make Cybersecurity A Priority

Cybersecurity is, without a doubt, a big subject that every leader should look into carefully. But because the hybrid culture is right at your door, here are four lessons your staff should be aware of.

1. Wi-Fi must be private. After almost two years of working from home, many people look at cafes as great places to concentrate or simply see people after long days of lockdown. But these places are tricky, and any employee should know that a public network lacks firewalls, which allows anyone using that network to hack into your company’s data easily. If you still want to work from Starbucks, use a personal hotspot and VPN (preferably one set by your company).

2. Computers and hardware should be secure. Be careful if your employees are working with personal computers from home. Work laptops should be used solely for work, and they should have the latest software updates. If they're used for personal actions, like the kids' homework, it can open dangerous paths and expose the company to a security breach. All protocols you work for in educating your staff on cybersecurity can become insignificant. You need to remember that your employee won’t have the same budget as your company to invest in cybersecurity (plus, why should they be financially responsible for your company’s cybersecurity?).

3. Password policies must be set. This should've been written years ago on your company’s walls, but please establish a password policy if your company doesn’t have one yet. Without knowing it, your employees can invalidate security measures if they have weak or repetitive passwords. Ensure that your employees understand this and choose different passwords for all applications they need to use for work. It's also best to disable the autofill feature. And work passwords should be different from any personal passwords. Finally, share with your staff a secure password manager.

4. Use a cloud and disable external devices. It seems like USB thumb drives are from the past decade, but they're still used in work environments. It’s important to know that these devices are prevalent among bad actors to install malware. Malicious actors can install viruses or malware and distribute them to unsuspecting workers. Cloud solutions are a better choice. If everything is on the cloud, your employees won’t need to use an external device.

When setting a hybrid work culture, cybersecurity must be a priority. Hazards found at home can damage companies’ assets. Business leaders need to know that in a hybrid work culture, they need to invest in infrastructure that covers the employees' homes and the office. Educating the staff on this subject is the key to a good transition to the post-pandemic working world. Teach them how to recognize a possible threat.

But, even if you implement all of these recommendations, you can't be completely safe. That’s the sad truth. All you can do is make it hard for cybercriminals to get to you so they won't bother coming after your business. So, it's critical to have a cybersecurity plan to keep the bad guys at bay. Otherwise, the new hybrid culture that we've learned to love can soon begin to fail.


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