Why Security?

Security is often considered only from a tangible perspective - we think about how to secure our homes, cars and offices from threats. However, we must think in broader terms. The COVID-19 virus is a threat to our health in itself but our response to it has brought forward new threats and security risks on different fronts.

In the rush to work in isolation, away from the office environment, organisations and individuals have reached for cloud-based collaboration tools that are easy and fast to deploy. Videoconferencing tools such as Zoom saw a 300% increase in daily meeting participants as the pandemic spreads across the globe. This effectively creates a shadow IT infrastructure that is not as secure as the office environment.

Here are 3 considerations to help you restore security in a post-COVID-19 world.

Adaptability

The quality of being able to quickly recognise challenges and create solutions to address them. This can be facilitated by agile ways of working that allow organisations to make quick decisions and execute them. For example, many restaurants offered new take-out menus when dining-in was banned. People are the most valuable asset: equipping employees with versatile skillsets can make all the difference in times of crisis.

Protection

Safeguarding valuable assets, in the form of data or physical assets. An employee working from home might be using an unprotected network to access company information. In the physical space, new forms of biometric access control are necessary as touch-based systems now pose a threat of
virus transmission.

Wellbeing

The security of an organisation is highly influenced by the health and safety of its employees. As the line between home and office is blurred, organisations must consider the physical and mental health of their workers. For instance, some employees will face fresh challenges in having to juggle work and family commitments when working from home. This can lead to undue stress that reduces productivity and affects employee engagement.

Consistency

Service levels, whether provided via physical or digital channels, need to be consistent in order for organisations to withstand pandemics and other major events. For example, government social services can be offered over video calls to maintain the same level of professionalism and speed without the inconvenience of having to visit a physical location. An organsation’s operating model needs to be secure and robust enough to ensure consistency of services.

How to Restore Security?

Organisations must balance the ease of use for employees to access company data with the need to maintain security. They should consider security not just at the physical level, but also secured connectivity (eg: M-Link, VPN access), secured applications such as VDI on cloud; secured messaging and secured communications.