The shift to hybrid work patterns has revolutionized the way organizations function, introducing flexibility and new security risks. As your employees connect from anywhere, on any device, at any time, your attack surface grows exponentially – opening up ideal targets for threat actors.
For security leaders operating in this new environment, it’s essential to know the changing threat landscape in order to create effective defense strategies.
Today’s ransomware attacks are very different from those of the past. Modern ransomware threats are so sophisticated that they entail careful planning and the use of double extortion techniques – encrypting your data not only but first exfiltrating valuable data to use as further leverage.
Even with highly secure backup processes in place, businesses are at risk when the attackers threaten to expose customer data, partner data, or intellectual property if their demands aren’t fulfilled.
Mitigating these threats means breaking free from legacy perimeter-based defenses to embracing overall security strategies designed for today’s distributed workforce:
To thoroughly defend your organization in this ecosystem, security leaders need to focus on implementing some key capabilities:
Dynamic access policies that assess device health prior to allowing connections to high-risk applications are key defenses. By regularly checking devices instead of conducting point-in-time checks, you can instantly remove access when security posture changes.
With many threats now traveling over encrypted channels, the ability to examine all traffic – both encrypted and not – is still critical. Inspection should occur at the cloud perimeter without sacrificing performance.
Security products that swap information drive multiplier effects on your security strategy. When endpoint protection and cloud security services share threat intelligence, they facilitate automated blocking of newly revealed threats throughout your environment.
Cloud-based sandboxing features that scan suspicious files prior to delivery to endpoints can identify unknown threats. When these products are integrated into endpoint protection platforms, they accelerate remediation by rapidly identifying impacted devices.
Even with robust perimeter controls, compromised credentials are still a major threat. Deception technology can identify when attackers or malicious insiders try to move laterally in your environment, which will initiate automated response actions.
When building your hybrid workforce security strategy, focus on solutions that minimize complexity while maximizing visibility. Cloud-delivered security services typically offer the most scalable approach, with benefits including:
Keep in mind that user experience is still king – friction-based security solutions tend to push employees into shadow IT and workarounds that raise risk.
security architecture against the capabilities mentioned above. Determine areas where your ability to authenticate users, check device health, scan traffic, and exchange threat intelligence between platforms falls short.
Prioritize improvements according to your unique risk profile and the sensitivity of your data assets. Start with more advanced endpoint protection and cloud-based secure access since these foundation pieces underpin broader security efforts.
The shift to hybrid work is a permanent reworking of how we do business. By adopting new security methods built for this distributed world, organizations can capitalize on the value of flexibility without sacrificing the attendant risks.
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