Indi Siriniwasa, Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa at Trend Micro, explains the new cyberthreats which companies face and how to overcome them.
We have heard the term ‘new normal’ bandied about consistently over the last two months and while we may be tired of hearing it, there is an inescapable new reality in the way we work, engage and communicate. But with all new ways of working come new threats and in those new opportunities.
There has been a surge in security threats that are coming in numerous forms. Firstly, traditional ransomware, business email compromise (BEC) and malware attacks are more prevalent than ever. Because people aren’t under the constant watchful eye of their IT teams, individual security has become lax.
Secondly, as we start to use more work from home (WFH) tools to connect, talk and collaborate, there are other ‘threats’. One example is ‘call bombing’ on tools like Zoom, Teams, House Party and even Facebook.
Access the biggest threat
There are so many factors and moving parts that security practitioners now need to take into consideration to allow their employees to WFH. The more people make use of the Internet – the higher the risk. Companies are turning rapidly to the cloud to support remote offices, adding it as an additional infrastructure layer. When you set up components of your business in the cloud, it is your responsibility to ensure that the applications you put in the cloud, access to the cloud and the devices connecting to the cloud are secure.
Beyond policy, taking more action
It isn’t going to be easy to get people to go back to an office in the future, not now that they have been able to prove they are as, if not more, productive working from home.
This is the big game changer. The technologies exist to secure them. At Trend Micro we can secure business from the endpoint to the cloud, across the network and into the data centre. It’s not a debate about changing technology. It is a discussion about ensuring you have the right technology in place to cover all aspects of your business but most importantly, it is about educating people.
Looking ahead
The impending use of 5G is going to mean more data, more bandwidth and, in this, easier and more seamless access to the cloud because the cloud is where the real data intelligence will lie. Devices are going to become more intelligent. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is going to demand more stringent security by way of better password management, better security software and more sophisticated user education.
Other good practices that need to be stepped up now more than ever is security patching and updates.
Are we going to have to do things differently when it comes to security? In part, yes. But the same best practices will apply.
