THE NEW NORMAL

THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PANDEMIC HAS FORCED BUSINESSES TO UNDERGO SEISMIC CHANGES IN THE WAY THEY OPERATE. AS FLEXIBLE POLICIES BECOME STANDARD AND REMOTE WORK BECOMES A NORM, ANOTHER IMPORTANT CHALLENGE IS TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT – CYBERSECURITY.

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The coronavirus pandemic presents a tremendous health crisis that nations across the globe are grappling with. With over 2 million confirmed cases of infected people globally, the virus is causing a huge impact on people’s lives, families and communities.

In addition to being a major public health issue, the COVID-19 crisis also brings about profound social and economic consequences, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Crisis-response efforts are in full motion in many countries across the world. Healthcare organisations are explicitly increasing their capacities and maximising their resources to cope with the rising demands to contain the virus. Educational firms are shifting to online platforms to ensure ongoing learning opportunities. Moreover, companies are rapidly adopting new ways to operate to maintain their businesses, many of which have been compelled to embrace remote working.

However, with the coronavirus not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon, enterprises are faced with the challenge of having to juggle a range of new systems priorities such as ensuring the stability of critical business processes, workforce productivity and, of course, cybersecurity.

Security Advisor ME speaks to industry experts to get their insights on how the pandemic is impacting cybersecurity and the future of work.

RISKS AND CHALLENGES

For many businesses, the move to a remote working model came too swiftly. Rather than being able to transition gradually, the quarantine measures demanded a quick response, which has left CIOs and CISOs with little time to prepare and address the cybersecurity challenges for remote working.