Confronting the threat of cyberattacks head on

Recent research revealed that cybercrime, incuding cyberattacks, cost the Irish economy €9.6 billion last year and revealed there was an increase of 50% in online crime.

Confronting the threat of cyberattacks head on

In light of recent government advice in relation to working from home, it looks as though many workers in Ireland will have to wait a while longer before they can resume life as normal.

Though the ‘great reopening’ that saw thousands return to the office in September was brief, it presented an opportunity for workers to experience what the post-pandemic office will look like. People are eager to return in some capacity and are patiently awaiting the next phase of Ireland’s reopening upon government advice.

However, IT security professionals and cybersecurity teams may not be as eager. Many have become more conflicted, having spent the last two years navigating the security complexities associated with remote working.

The reality of the last two years has been a revolutionised workplace—a more flexible, dispersed IT environment where endpoint visibility and control is more challenging than ever. Suspicious emails and unauthorised webcam access are the top security concerns for those working from home in Ireland.

As threat actors become more sophisticated to take advantage of this new remote and hybrid working era, security teams must tackle the emerging threat of the new shadow IT. It has grown exponentially on a local level in recent years with the adoption of cloud-based applications and services. While unauthorised software or hardware can increase innovation and agility, it can also expose the organisation to significant risks.

Recent research from HP Wolf Security has found that unsanctioned and unmanaged home working devices represent a critical emerging risk – placing unprecedented operational pressure on security and IT teams.

Invisible layers of protection

In the hustle to maintain business continuity and to retain some sense of normality during the crisis, security processes and policies were overlooked in many organisations, making them vulnerable without any secure layers of protection.

At the time, this was understandable given the external factors at play, but it has led to an exponential growth of shadow IT – which typically refers to non-IT departments deploying hardware or software outside of those mandated by IT teams.

During lockdown, nearly half of global office workers bought a PC, laptop or printer, according to the new HP Wolf Security Out of Sight & Out of Mind report. The majority (68%) of them claim security wasn’t a major consideration in their purchase, with functionality and cost rated more important. 43% say their laptop wasn’t even checked or installed by IT, meaning that the most basic step in ensuring new device security was overlooked.

The responsibility isn’t on IT departments alone, with almost a quarter of office workers in Ireland revealing that they use their employer’s business video communications accounts to socialise with friends and family, and when it comes to passwords for work, a quarter use the same passwords for personal accounts or devices. Both of these actions can place organisations and IT departments in compromised positions.

The impact of these behaviours and attitudes creates a situation where many remote and hybrid workers are using unsanctioned and unsecured devices. A fifth of workers claim to have clicked on malicious links since working from home. In fact, three-quarters of IT leaders say they’ve seen an increase in this activity. Yet very few (30%) workers report these errant clicks to IT, either because they’re afraid to, they don’t think it’s important, or feel it’s a hassle.

In Ireland specifically, one in ten claim they would not immediately tell their employer if they realised a device they were working on had been compromised.

Securing the future of work

So, how can IT managers overcome these challenges to ensure the future of work is secure? The logical first step lies in the adoption of better endpoint security that equips them with greater visibility and management tools – making it more difficult for threat actors to gain access to systems.

For example, devices with remote recovery capabilities and self-healing firmware can help endpoints to recover in case of compromise. These devices can help transform IT support in security and keep teams focused on delivering value to the business.

But this shift to hybrid also requires a new architectural approach to protect against known and unknown threats whilst reducing the burden on cybersecurity teams and end users on the front line.

Zero Trust principles can help here—the idea that organisations should assume breach and continually verify or authenticate access to and between resources based on context. Crucially, this shouldn’t just apply at an individual device level, but also to the discrete components of the endpoint including firmware, operating systems, applications, and users.

By applying principles such as strong identity management, least privilege and isolation at this level, organisations reduce their attack surface and enable quick recovery in the event of a compromise.

We’re entering an exciting new period of workplace transformation. However, big changes can often lead to the emergence of new security gaps. This will require secure-by-design features that not only contain and remove cyber-threats but also enable systems to recover quickly and automatically when compromised. Organisations that get to grips with endpoint security first will gain an early lead in the hybrid work era.

Author bio:

Written by Neil Dover

Neil Dover is the County Manager, Ireland, at HP Inc. He is responsible for strategic planning, budgeting, P&L, cost control, marketing, alliance partners, business development and leading the sales team. Neil started working for HP in 2012.