Execs don't sound very confident about long-term network security in the WFH era

Image: GettyImages/Laurence Dutton

On Wednesday, Sungard Availability Services published the results of a survey highlighting sentiments astir hybrid enactment moving forward, captious tools for distant employees and web security. While galore companies are readying for semipermanent distant operations, religion successful the information of their infrastructure doesn't precisely beam confidence.

"As organizations program to support hybrid enactment successful spot afloat time, they request to decently enactment it, which whitethorn necessitate adjustments to their technologies oregon information policies," said Shawn Burke, Global Chief Security Officer astatine Sungard AS, successful a property release. "Now is the clip to modernize your infrastructure and unafraid your situation to enactment a semipermanent distant workforce."

SEE: IT disbursal reimbursement policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Hybrid enactment and information challenges

The power to distant and hybrid enactment introduces caller information challenges for companies, arsenic telecommuters log connected for the virtual workday via their location networks utilizing a mixed container of institution and idiosyncratic devices. Interestingly, the sentiments regarding aboriginal distant operations don't look to align with perceived information levels needed to support these models.

The immense bulk of respondents (89%) said they judge a "mix of distant and in-office moving is the perfect enactment situation" aft the upcoming Labor Day holiday, according to the report, and 83% program to usage these frameworks connected this timeline. While three-quarters of companies person adopted a hybrid enactment arrangement, lone 21% "are afloat assured their infrastructure information tin enactment semipermanent distant work," according to the report. 

SEE: Juggling distant enactment with kids' acquisition is simply a mammoth task. Here's however employers tin assistance (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

According to the earthy dataset, 56% of respondents said they were moderately assured that their company's "infrastructure information tin run successful a long-term" distant enactment exemplary and 22% were somewhat assured successful these operations. While 66% of respondents were moderately assured that their information measures "against phishing oregon ransomware attacks are adequate" successful a predominantly "virtual environment," 25% said they were somewhat confident, based connected this earthy data.

Cybersecurity attacks surge

In 2020, the full fig of complaints reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) accrued 69% compared to 2019, according to a caller FBI/CIS advisory; betwixt January and July 31 of this year, the fig of ransomware complaints accrued 62% compared to this clip play past year. And the resulting ransomware payouts are besides connected teh rise.

In the archetypal six months of 2021, ransomware payments surged 82% to $570,000 connected average, according to Unit 42's Ransomware Threat Report. In the aftermath of the Colonial Pipeline attack, the institution shelled retired much than $4 cardinal to Darkside hackers, according to a Wall Street Journal interview with the CEO. After the JBS attack, the institution paid the REvil radical $11 million.

Also spot

• Delta variant: Is your IT section acceptable to spell afloat distant again owed to COVID-19? (TechRepublic)
• Working from home: How to get distant close (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Contract enactment policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• CXO: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)