The importance of integrated cyber security post pandemic

The events of 2020-21 brought about rapid change in the way we live, work and relax. Almost overnight, a large percentage of the global population adopted a ‘stay at home’ policy, which included working from home wherever possible.

As a result of the pandemic, more businesses have now found that remote working is a viable possibility for their workforce, with reduced overheads and more engaged personnel who have not endured a stressful morning commute.

However, it is crucial that businesses of all sizes stay vigilant to the threat of cyber crimes in the post-pandemic world, by integrating cyber security into software platforms and, especially, into any hosted software that is provisioned to remote workers.

What are the biggest post-pandemic cyber security risks?

During the pandemic itself, new threats emerged that attempted to capitalise on novice remote workers, to imitate official government messaging relating to the virus, or to use health and pharmaceutical messages as a cover for phishing attempts.

As the immediate fear of the virus subsides, these attempted frauds should be less successful, as people often keep their guard up more successfully when they are less stressed or fearful.

However, a new wave of cyber threats is bound to emerge. These might include hacks targeted at videoconferencing applications, attempted exploits of hosted email clients, and other efforts to gain backdoor access to secure business networks.

How to protect against post-pandemic cyber attacks

If you are planning to adopt remote working as standard in the post-pandemic era, it is important to consider remote workers’ computers, laptops and other connected devices as workstations on your own company network.

In this sense, cyber security should be integrated from your own servers and cloud software, to your on-premise LAN, but also to those remote devices as an extension of your end-to-end secured company network.

Many businesses have lost revenues over the past 18 months, and it is essential that you do not cut back on your cyber security in an attempt to save on costs, as a successful hack could be the final nail in the coffin when combining lost revenues and potential data protection penalties.

Committing to integrated cyber security on a budget

It is very possible to invest in integrated cyber security, while keeping within your current IT budget. Cloud hosted software is one way to do this, by cutting out the upfront infrastructure costs and the need to buy a copy of the software outright.

You can start by provisioning integrated security to a small number of remote workers, and scale your investment as your business grows in the post-pandemic bounce-back economy.

Multiple security services provisioned via a single platform mean your business can be innovative and agile, to counter new emerging threats whatever they may be, and to adapt into new growth markets as the shape of the new economy emerges.

To find out more about streamlining and simplifying your integrated cyber security in the post-pandemic economy, contact APH today and a member of our team will be happy to discuss your needs.