With distributed workforces working from all over, and in some instances using personal devices to access apps and corporate resources, the attack surface is wider than ever before, and cyber security practitioners are battling to defend it.
According to Citrix Systems, one security decision maker likened the practically overnight exodus to working from home that happended when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, to “changing an engine on a plane while it was in flight.”
To establish how organisations are managing secure remote working, Citrix conducted a survey, The State of Security in a Hybrid World, that talked to 1 250 security decision makers across medium to large organisations in the US, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
The findings revealed that nearly thee-quarters (74%) of security decision makers say procedures and controls are now more complex as their businesses transition to remote and hybrid work.
A similar number (73%) say they are battling to keep up with the increased volume of security threats that the models create.
Boosting employee experience
According to the study, today’s employees want the flexibility to work when, where and how they choose using their applications and devices of choice.
Over and above security decision makers, Citrix polled 3 603 knowledge workers, and two thirds said it is “extremely” or “very important” to be able to work remotely or from home, on any device.
Smart businesses know this, with a staggering 86% of respondents saying it is “extremely” or “very important” to create a seamless employee experience, and about nine in 10 say they measure the impact of information security on employee experience and productivity.
The game changers
According to Kurt Roemer, chief security strategist at Citrix, IT businesses are realising that as they embrace hybrid work, their security posture needs to evolve.
“Rather than traditional command and control-style strategies, they need to take a more intelligent, people-focused approach to security that protects employees without negatively affecting their experience,” he adds.
The survey revealed that most are planning to do this, with 79% saying the pandemic has created an opportunity to completely rethink their long-term information security strategy with these objectives in mind.
This is not without its challenges though - the top three experienced by those surveyed included poor connectivity (43%), navigating technical problems virtually (34%), and iinability to get IT support quickly and easily (32%).
Looking to the future
Every cloud has a silver lining though - while a mere 46% of security decision makers said they felt “somewhat prepared” for remote work when the pandemic hit, a whopping 84% now say they feel “very” or “somewhat” prepared to secure a hybrid, remote or at-home workforce.
Another 58% claimed that investments in security have increased over the last 12 months by an average of 40%.
In addition, 71% said their organisation’s IT environment is now more secure than it was in pre-pandemic days, which is critical, as the survey revealed that 52% of security decision makers believe most of their workforce will be permanently remote or hybrid.
Roemer believes that hybrid is the future of work, and IT will play a vital role in delivering it.
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