Five cybersecurity practices COVID-19 will change forever
James Thorpe
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing challenges are causing some changes that will likely last. As companies adjust to new circumstances, the extremes reveal how old methods may be insufficient for the future. One of the most prominent of these areas is what businesses consider cybersecurity best practices.
Cybersecurity has gone through something of a crisis throughout COVID-19. Amid the chaos and confusion of the pandemic, cybercrime has skyrocketed, revealing some shortcomings of old practices. In response, cybersecurity processes may shift forever and for the better.
Here are five areas of COVID-19 cybersecurity to consider.
Access management
The mass migration to remote work has caused some issues in cybersecurity. With many companies now having 90 to 100% of their staff work from home, it’s been harder to secure access to company files and servers. Businesses are having to change how they manage data access and that trend will likely stay.
Many companies, now finding that remote work is possible, will likely continue to enable remote work. With more employees having to access work systems on non-work devices, controls will have to evolve. The specifics will look different for every company, but things like multi-factor authentication and more levels of access will grow.
Detection-based protection
Before the pandemic, many businesses followed a detection-based model for cybersecurity. These systems, even if they were effective in the past, haven’t always been able to keep up with the recent surge of cybercrime. As a result, the industry may start to move away from a detection-based model in favor of zero-trust approaches.
The COVID wave of cybercrime will most likely not be the world’s last and detection-based security can’t account for new threats. When cybercrime techniques evolve quickly, businesses have to treat any data movement as if it could be a threat. Given how much some companies have lost to the cybercrime wave, the industry will likely trend towards over-protection.
Cloud security
Post-COVID cybersecurity will most likely see a movement towards cloud-based security solutions. Utilising the cloud is perhaps a company’s best bet at allowing employees to work from home efficiently. As they shift towards working on the cloud, they’ll need to adopt cloud-native security.
Businesses can deploy cloud-based solutions far faster. If there’s anything the pandemic has emphasised, it’s that companies need a scalable, versatile approach to security, because unexpected things happen. Cloud-based security provides scalability and versatility.
Employee security training
One influential factor behind the COVID cybercrime wave was anxious employees letting their guard down. Businesses need to adopt new and improved models for training workers in cybersecurity best practices. When working from home, virtual meetings are essential so companies can use these to reemphasise security protocols.
When in isolation, it can be difficult for employees to stay focused, so they may lose sight of these practices. Holding virtual training and frequent teleconferences about cybersecurity can keep security at the front of everyone’s mind.
Automation
The restrictions of the pandemic have given AI the chance to shine. COVID-19 has accelerated automation adoption rates and this trend will likely continue into cybersecurity. As cyber-threats keep growing, businesses may not always have enough staff, but AI can fill in the gaps.
AI-based cybersecurity was always promising, but it will take off as a result of the pandemic. Since AI is always self-improving, it offers the scalability businesses need in the post-COVID world.
Challenges will lead to new solutions
It’s hard to overstate the effect that COVID-19 will have on cybersecurity. The pandemic has pushed the world to extremes in many regards, which will cause some permanent shifts. In the face of these new challenges, new cybersecurity best practices are emerging, providing hope for the future.
Devin Partida is a technology writer and the Editor-in-Chief of the digital magazine, ReHack.com. To read more from Devin, check out the site.
