The shift to employees using their personal devices at home for work makes companies vulnerable. Courtesy istockphoto.com
The shift to employees using their personal devices at home for work makes companies vulnerable. Courtesy istockphoto.com
The shift to employees using their personal devices at home for work makes companies vulnerable. Courtesy istockphoto.com
The shift to employees using their personal devices at home for work makes companies vulnerable. Courtesy istockphoto.com


Is a remote-working world a hacker's paradise?


  • English
  • Arabic

September 23, 2021

Amid the chaos of early 2020, another pandemic was silently making its way across the globe at record speed. Cybercriminals reacted quickly to the fast-changing environment and chaos around them, adapting their tools and strategies to target new weaknesses in corporate and personal cybersecurity. Since then, global institutions have been grappling with the aftermath. However, dangerous hackers aren't the only threat. With more and more people now used to the seamlessness of remote work, many are deliberately or inadvertently bypassing critical workplace cybersecurity policies, something that is far easier to do at home than in the office. As a result, traditional cybersecurity teams feel like they’re fighting a losing battle.

However, there is reason to be optimistic about a more secure and prosperous future, which is compatible with a future in which we see more flexible working. To get there, cybersecurity teams must ensure that security is integrated into existing workflows as much as possible. To do this, we need new, unobtrusive and intuitive technologies.

Cybersecurity enables us to live our digital lives with confidence, from online banking to encrypted communications. However, in the workplace, we often regard it as a hindrance to productivity rather than a necessary safeguard. According to a research report by HP Wolf Security, more than a third of workers worldwide believe cybersecurity is a barrier to productivity and efficiency, with nearly half of 18-24-year-olds believing it is.

At least part of this attitude could be attributed to a lack of awareness and a general disinterest in all things related to security. Two fifths of 18-24-year-old employees are unsure of their company's data security practices. More than half indicated they are more concerned about meeting deadlines than exposing the company to a data breach. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of office workers said that they had had no further instruction on how to secure their home network.

The fact that this apathy is translating into high-risk activity is perhaps the most worrying aspect. Employees say security regulations and technologies are frequently overly restrictive, with nearly a fifth admitting to circumventing policies to get their work done faster — a figure that rises to 31 per cent among younger workers.

Cybersecurity experts are worried by these developments. After all, they're on the front line of the continuous war to defend intellectual property and private data. They can see the iceberg of a major security breach approaching in the distance, yet they feel unappreciated and unheard when they raise the alarm. In fact, 91 per cent reported that they felt compelled to sacrifice security to maintain a sense of company continuity.

Apathy is translating into high-risk activity

As a result, most IT professionals feel torn between the necessity to protect their company from potentially catastrophic security breaches and the demands of users and managers to develop shortcuts. While 91 per cent of IT teams have adjusted security policies to accommodate the new remote workforce, 80 per cent report having experienced pushback from colleagues. Nonetheless, because of the large number of insecure remote working devices and infrastructure, uneducated users and cybercrime groups operating with impunity from hostile countries, the threat posed by serious dangers such as ransomware — malware that encrypts a user’s files to extract money from them — is particularly severe nowadays.

Worryingly, according to research, one out of every three security teams has suffered high stress during the pandemic, with more than a quarter believing it has harmed their ability to perform their duties. We can't afford to lose any more bright workers at a time when there are chronic cyber-skills shortages, rising risks and declining policy compliance.

Employees want easy-to-use security tools and fewer constraints. On the other hand, cybersecurity teams need to find a method of increasing both security and the awareness of their colleagues of the many dangers in the digital realm. If left uncontrolled, this type of conflict might spiral out of control. So, how can businesses strike an acceptable balance between efficiency and security? The key is to make working securely as simple as working insecurely.

In short, cybersecurity teams must adapt to the emerging hybrid and remote workplace. Security that is built-in rather than bolted onto laptops, PCs and printers can give a more seamless and less restrictive experience. Organisations can then add security services on top, such as those that can contain and isolate risks before they cause harm. Other tools can provide IT teams with remote management and the capacity to self-monitor and self-heal without the need for user engagement.

It's all about maximising security while reducing user annoyance. As we go towards the new era of hybrid working, this is the best strategy to keep IT teams and ordinary colleagues happy, flexible and productive.

Brief scores:

Day 1

Toss: South Africa, field first

Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48

South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4

The BIO:

He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal

He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side

By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam

Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border

He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push

His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

While you're here
Get inspired

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).

Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.  

Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?). 

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Scotland v Ireland:

Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn

Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)

Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour

Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Updated: September 23, 2021, 4:00 AM`