COVID-19 may mean the end of the open office plan, in-person conferences and handshakes. How has cybersecurity changed, and what new role will CISOs play?
Seemingly overnight, as society shifted to lockdowns, social distancing, unemployment, hourly data on the health effects of COVID-19 and countless other challenges, the cybersecurity world’s priorities, strategies and tasks have been turned upside down, as well. And now, large corporations such as Twitter, which employs up to 5,000 people worldwide, have announced that it will allow some of its workforce to continue working from home indefinitely if they choose. The social media company is reportedly the first to signal a new normal for a major technology company that could extend beyond the COVID-19 public health crisis. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai, as well, have urged employees work remotely if possible until 2021, according to news reports.
With this sudden shift to work-from-home (WFH) operations, businesses are now forced to deal with increased activity from both independent and nation-state cybercriminals, according to Andy Sauer, Director of Cybersecurity at Steel Root in Salem, Mass.