Many aspects of ICT and technological innovation have seen enormous developments over the past few decades, but none more so – owing to its effectiveness, weight and impact on the integrity of our entire ecosystem – than cybersecurity. Given remote working is now so much more common, and really nothing to write home about in the way it would certainly have been just five or ten years ago, cybersecurity is even more important than ever. Information protection protocols, the different forms of secure connectivity and new cybersecurity skills in our professional lives all have a growing role to play.

Remote working means more entry points for cyber criminals

The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive uncertainty for many organisations. But it also forced them to rethink many of their processes, how they distributed work and their fundamental business models, all without the ability to rely on face-to-face interactions in a physical office space. Remote working became the obvious and welcome solution. After the worst of the crisis passed, some companies returned to “normal”, but those who’ve chosen to stick with remote working or, at the very least, a hybrid form of working need to pay extra special attention to security. Why is that?

• Remote workstations are more vulnerable. In many cases, when employees start working from home, they tend to use at least some of their own equipment and devices, certainly their own Internet connections and lots of their “domestic habits” in terms of technology. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this generally leads remote workers to adopt a more relaxed attitude when it comes to cybersecurity.
• The Cloud requires training. In the context of remote working, especially because of the convenience involved, many companies have simply dumped a significant amount of their daily activities and data flows straight into Cloud environments. However, Cloud dynamics require training in the basics of cybersecurity and information sharing, something not all organisations have fully considered.
• A safe corporate culture is vital. To avoid some of the problems mentioned above, organisations need to incorporate cybersecurity best practice as a key part of their corporate culture. That means making sure safe practices and routines become a natural reflex for workers, regardless of where they happen to be physically located that day.

Safer connectivity: SASE

One way to increase cybersecurity in any system is to eliminate the human element and vulnerable physical devices, at least as far as possible. Take an unprotected router or a user who displays lax security habits at best, for example, out of the equation altogether and any system’s overall integrity will naturally see a benefit. That’s what Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is all about, which works to unify connectivity and cybersecurity structures within a Cloud-based system, making everything more secure, accessible and efficient.

Security policies applied to user sessions are adapted individually based on the entity connecting, the status and behaviour of the device, the sensitivity of the resources being accessed, as well as the organisation’s security and compliance policies. Cybersecurity is also constantly monitored for the duration of the session.

Offensive cybersecurity

A good way to avoid cybersecurity issues entirely is to anticipate what might happen in the worst possible scenario. That means putting yourself in the shoes of cyber criminals and launching mock attacks in a bid to identify any potential gaps in your defences, so you can put them right before a danger becomes real. That’s what offensive cybersecurity is really all about. The CEO and founder of Hermes Security Solutions, Cristian Mateo, offers this service to others and explains that he’s “developed a highly innovative form of artificial intelligence. It’s not like ChatGPT, but it can make decisions for itself and will help you discover deficiencies so you can spot any potential security breaches”.