Communication was already a challenge in the security industry with widespread teams or lone personnel in siloed locations. Now that COVID-19 has virtually eradicated in-person interactions and many team members are only working remotely, it is all the more difficult to keep everyone synced. The entire face of security communications has changed, escalating the need to find alternate ways to connect with the growing remote workforce. Internal and external communications are merging as security companies struggle to manage disconnected teams. Remote work now requires mobile communication delivery at an unprecedented level. Security professionals are discovering faster, more effective ways to communicate with simple, plug-and-play digital solutions.

Bitglass announced the release of its 2021 Remote Workforce Security Report. Bitglass surveyed IT and security professionals to understand how remote work has transformed the state of security operations over the last year. Data from this report shows that the majority of organizations (57%) still have over three-quarters of their teams working remotely. An overwhelming 90% of organizations said they are likely to continue these increased levels of remote work in the future due to productivity benefits. Additionally, 53% of companies said they are looking to make some positions permanently remote after the COVID crisis ends--a much higher rate than when the pandemic began (33%).

Acronis released the findings of its second annual Cyber Protection Week survey, which uncovered a dangerous disconnect between the need for organizations to keep their data protected and the ineffective investments they’ve made trying to reach that goal. While 2020 saw companies purchase new systems to enable and secure remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, those investments are not paying off. The global survey discovered that 80% of companies now run as many as 10 solutions simultaneously for their data protection and cybersecurity needs – yet more than half of those organizations suffered unexpected downtime last year because of data loss.

This past year has been a challenging one for many business owners and employees who’ve been forced to leave the office environment and switch to working from home (WFH) full time. Whilst this undoubtedly has its benefits, the risk of data breaches has exponentially grown. With that in mind, the Digital Marketing experts at Reboot Online surveyed 1,198 business owners and employees across the UK on their experiences with data breaches and password security in the past year (2020/2021). Key findings include:

 There are numerous solutions organizations can implement to mitigate risks associated with employee use of corporate connected devices in the execution of personal business. In this article, we will delve a bit deeper to explain the pros and cons of implementing a few of the more common solutions. It is important to note, that regardless of the solution, an effective awareness and training program for employees is the number one most effective safeguard for your organization.

Security budgets are tighter than ever, and security professionals need to leverage existing investments smartly, and use innovative security solutions that maximize ROI. Here are seven safety and security solutions that security and loss prevention leaders should consider: