CYBERSECURITY 2021: THE NEW YEAR WILL BRING NEW CHALLENGES

WITH ATTACKS ON THE RISE AND A LARGER-THAN-LIFE SURFACE TO DEFEND, SECURITY TEAMS WILL NEED A NEW MINDSET IN ORDER TO KEEP THEIR SYSTEMS, DATA AND PEOPLE SAFE, SAYS CITRIX’S CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER FERMIN SERNA.

- FERMIN SERNA

Defending corporate systems and information has never been easy. But the global pandemic has complicated things in ways no one could have predicted and is accelerating trends that promise to upend the way organisations think about and approach security in the year ahead. What will things look like in 2021? In a world where figuring out what will happen today is all but impossible, it’s hard to say what the future holds. But a few things are clear:

Remote work is here to stay

At the outset of 2020, remote work was something most companies were experimenting with. But mid-way through the year, things got serious as COVID-19 began to spread and mandates forced the masses to work from home. While many companies viewed remote work as a short-term solution to the pandemic problem, they are now realising that it is here to stay. Research shows that over three-quarters of more than 3,700 IT leaders in seven countries believe most workers will be reluctant to return to the office post pandemic. And they will need to revamp their security policies to support them as they work from anywhere.

There will be no perimeter