Page 101 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2022

New normal, new problems

The “new normal” poses several new challenges for cyber security since many businesses have found
ways to operate virtually.

Although stay at home restrictions have eased, many companies still allow their employees to work
remotely. This has increased the demands and requirements on data storage on the cloud, data security
and privacy concerns. With remote working becoming a new norm, online data sharing has become the
main mode of working.

At its core, the main challenge that we face today is the inability to technologically enforce what and how
third parties are using the data once it is made available in the public domain.

Allowing employees to work from home heightens the need to ensure that the data shared is kept secure,
confidential and tamper proof.

To prevent any tampering of confidential data, many businesses simply do not share their confidential
data with partners. This is a key challenge for businesses in the post-pandemic world.

In Q1 of 2020, when widespread “work from home” schemes were first implemented, there was a 17%
increase in the number of data breaches. This further underlines the importance of ensuring the security
of user data for many businesses today.

Catering to growing demand

Information sharing offers great opportunities for companies to build more efficient and resilient business
models. However, many businesses are still hesitant to share their data as the space remains difficult to
control once the data is made available.

With 75% of the world’s population projected to have their personal data online by 2023, user data
security will not only become a responsibility of businesses but a priority for those companies who wish
to thrive post-pandemic.

To cater to this online transition, businesses have ramped up their partnerships to collaborate digitally in
a distributed environment.

However, this digital world brings with it a host of security risks. Some common causes of cyber breaches
include using applications that are riddled with vulnerabilities which threaten the integrity and security of
classified information owned by enterprises.

To prevent such threats, it is in the firm’s best interest to adopt programs that protect their classified data
while it is at rest, in motion and in use. To do so, it is important that firms deploy a security-by-design
approach, whereby applications and services are designed to protect privacy first.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2022 Edition 101
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