Salt Communications, a LORCA 3 Cohort Graduate, attended LORCA Live’s latest online event from 29-31st March 2021. Where they brought a global ecosystem together to explore the role cybersecurity can play as an enabler for the emerging technologies set to define our world. During this event there was a wide range of workshops, panel discussions and live broadcasts – tailored to today’s cyber landscape.
What we learnt:
It’s time for Security Awareness to adapt by thinking cyber
The transition to working from home, as well as the necessary technological change, has had an effect on businesses all over the world. This has serious consequences for cybersecurity. Current approaches to human user security are antiquated, infrequent, complex or patronising. Yet, in a world where 90% of cyber attacks begin with a human user, technological controls can never guarantee 100% security.
To keep up, security awareness must build new methods. The days of an annual awareness course are long gone. Instead, security awareness is becoming more and more about drip-feeding brief snippets of information to users, with content production periods of hours or days rather than weeks or months. Adjust easily, with minimal effect on workers, to win the battle for recognition while still passing on those benefits.
According to a panel on LORCA Live ‘Understanding the changing risk landscape for business’ they panelists highlighted the importance of security awareness finding new ways to be part of the context. Security awareness must find new ways to incorporate itself into the environment. Since physical cues are no longer present, we must build virtual cues to promote safe behaviour by integrating security into people’s daily computing activities. These initiatives should be quick, attractive, social, and timely for optimal impact. They should preferably be delivered at the point of risk, going well beyond merely reminding people of their professional responsibilities. We can shift the context to drive secure behaviours by offering the right feedback at the right time.
Remote working is here to stay – why it’s even more important to secure your organisation
2020 moving into 2021, there has been a substantial change toward working from home. Businesses, for the most part, seem to have dealt with the logistical and health and safety implications of the transition, people seem to have adapted to remote working arrangements and processes fairly well.
Undoubtedly, there’s more to it than that from a security standpoint. It’s not enough that the dangers have shifted. More importantly, the environment in which most work is performed has changed. Given that all behaviour is influenced by its environment, approaches to ensuring your business and employees safety must evolve.
Data enforcement, data hacks, and malware attacks are all issues that CISOs and CIOs must deal with. As more people work from home, their jobs are becoming more difficult. Cyber-security threats and breaches are a concern that any company has to face. They can be highly disruptive, resulting in major, long-term financial and reputational harm.
When workers operate remotely, such an assault can be much more difficult to manage, so make sure you have a safe setup in place to reduce the risk as much as possible. The importance in providing frequent security training for employees, as one of the most serious threats to your security is human error. Responding to a phishing email, downloading malicious material, or clicking on a dangerous connection is all too convenient. Furthermore, since the security threat environment is constantly changing, workers are often unaware of the risk that their activities can pose. As a business owner you must ensure that the workers undergo daily training and updates to ensure that they have as much information as possible.
Organisations need to build trust to succeed in a post-pandemic world
Forward-thinking business executives who took steps before 2020 were more likely to survive the past year’s turmoil and place their businesses to succeed in the future. They created organisations with forward-thinking strategies, which offered a strong commitment to their stakeholders, and an effective use of technology to gain a competitive advantage. Improving organisational resilience to plan for potential disruptions starts with an honest assessment of the organisation’s readiness, adaptability, collaboration, trustworthiness, and responsibility.
The pandemic has hastened the adoption of technology, and many companies have had to change their digital operations in order to remain operational and expand. Users must have confidence in how their data will be used, stored, and secured in order to participate in the digital economy. This poses a number of issues for companies.
The ‘Building trust to succeed in the post-pandemic world’ workshop held by DELL technologies shared a number of strategic actions businesses can take to build resilience. The first option was to conduct crisis scenarios on a regular basis with key decision makers from different roles and departments. Scenario preparation assists leaders in preparing for change and predicting what businesses will need in the future to not only succeed but also prosper.
Secondly, to encourage employees to learn new cyber skills, develop training or rotational programs. This could improve an organisation’s ability to redeploy employees based on business requirements and employee preferences. Finally, to invest in a secure communications platform that promotes collaboration and private communications within your organisation. Collaboration will improve resilience by helping organisations communicate more effectively and promote trust among employees.
Although the future remains unclear, it would be unrealistic to expect that coronavirus vaccines would usher in a full return to pre-pandemic conditions. Now is the time to accept and plan for a more permanent remote-work environment. Firms can do this by integrating secure technology that encourages secure digital communications among employees and teams, making their businesses more appealing to customers while also promoting broader strategic growth objectives.
Walking away from the event, we picked up that organisations that are able to take a constructive approach are more likely to be safe and resilient, as well as to survive in the data-driven digital economy. Change and disruption will be the norm in the future, so leaders who put the building blocks of resilience in place now will be in the best position to succeed.
If you require further assistance feel free to reach out to our team for more information on this article. To sign up for a free trial of SaltCommunications or to talk to a member of the Salt Communications team, please contact us on info@saltcommunications.com.
About Salt Communications
Salt Communications is a multi-award winning cyber security company providing a fully enterprise-managed software solution giving absolute privacy in mobile communications. It is easy to deploy and uses multi-layered encryption techniques to meet the highest of security standards. Salt Communications offers ‘Peace of Mind’ for Organisations who value their privacy, by giving them complete control and secure communications, to protect their trusted relationships and stay safe. Salt Communications is headquartered in Belfast, N. Ireland, for more information visit our website.
