Celebrating cybersecurity month 2021: staying safe online in a hybrid world
IT teams throughout the business world did an incredible job at supporting the transition to remote working during the pandemic. And for all its disruption, the global pandemic also – inadvertently – opened our eyes to just how effective flexible working could be.
As we move into a hybrid work style, many organisations are now reducing their office space altogether and implementing more flexible policies. But while this approach might have some cost-cutting benefits in the short term, there could be longer term challenges regarding keeping businesses secure.
In this new hybrid work mode, it is vital for every business to adapt their security posture. As we celebrate 2021 European Cybersecurity Month, we explore some of the ways you can stay protected in the face of an evolving working model and threat landscape.
From remote to hybrid work
Over 2020 our remote workforce quickly swelled from 25,000 employees to some 140,000 in 96 countries, providing one of the most sweeping examples of how companies had to pivot to embrace home working.
Of course, it helped that we’d historically had an adaptable and flexible internal network. Combined with the fact that a large part of our offering was centred on providing connection, network, cybersecurity and collaboration solutions for businesses.
However, the unique challenge during this crisis was speed to scale, with a goal to enable all employees and partners to work remotely and ensure business continuity. To achieve this, we’re not ashamed to say that we required support from our partners and peers.
Of course, a lot has changed since the start of the pandemic. But one thing that has remained resolute is the appetite for flexible working, which means organisations must remain resilient in their approach to security and sustaining the wellbeing and engagement of their employees.
To help do so, Cisco’s Secure Hybrid Work ebook outlines strategic and tech based security solutions which have been designed with you and your organisation in mind to protect your workforce in the face of changing threat landscape.
ThinkB4UClick
The theme of this year’s European Cybersecurity Month is ThinkB4UClick. It only takes one wrong click for cyber criminals to access your data. Whether it’s phishing, ransomware, or another cybercrime tactic, it’s important to educate and protect yourself, and your organisation. The pandemic has increased opportunities for cyber attackers as employees access company resources from a variety of unmanaged devices and networks. Once they’ve found their way in and encrypted your data and files, criminals will want money to restore them. With a ransomware attack reportedly taking place every 11 seconds this year, here are some tips for protecting yourself and your organisation.
Get involved
I couldn’t finish an article for European Cybersecurity Month without highlighting the enormous impact working in Cybersecurity can have on our inclusive future. This is a fantastic area to work in and I encourage people of all backgrounds to consider a career in Cybersecurity. If you’re not sure where to begin your Cybersecurity career, check out this very informative blog from a Cisco colleague about getting started in the industry here.
For more information on Cyber Awareness Month and how Cisco is celebrating this, please visit our global hub page here.
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