Developing a security-first culture to aid remote teams

On December 9, 2020, two employees of a US-based healthcare provider [1] received a phishing email that allowed them to gain unauthorized access to the company's system for nearly a week. It exposed the personal information of over 100,000 elderly patients, including their name, date of birth, address, phone number, bank account information, social security number, insurance information, account number, and driver's license number. Of course, the company's response was to conduct enhanced security training for all employees and an organization-wide password change drive. However, this is not the ideal situation in which to educate your employees about potential security threats.

Let's take a look at what you can do right now to reduce security risks and foster a security-first culture in teams, particularly those working remotely outside of the office's security bubble.

Awareness must be priority numero uno

Not only employees must be taught about basic cybersecurity hygiene such as not clicking unverified links, regularly updating their tools, firewalls, recognizing how phishing, whaling, smishing, and vishing work, but also the importance of being vigilant, how bad security practices hinder their work, and the bigger picture behind creating a culture of security.?

Awareness can start with even a simple practice of using a VPN for everything. Organizations must develop awareness using web-based training courses by creating game-based e-learning scenarios, formulating reward programs for vigilant employees, circulating security policies, and asking Business leaders to lead by example.?

Review Data Access Policies

Data Access Policy goes hand in hand with business security, especially for organizations with employees with different hierarchy levels who deal with multiple levels of data. Just because some employees need access to some information in a network or a folder, they should not be given access to the entire directory. Employees having specific access credentials within the organization can help mitigate any potential data access threats.?

You can achieve this by integrating proven solutions that provide Identity and Access Management Control. A comprehensive solution [2] that offers options for Role-based Access Control (RBAC), Attribute-based (ABAC), and Policy-based Access Control (PBAC) can prevent a single compromised account from contributing to broader data breach. Similarly, companies should also limit access to physical infrastructure such as data centers to selected employees.?

Protect Endpoint Security

With more and more employees working from home, organizations must ensure that endpoint security is protected with enterprise-grade advanced infrastructure. Employees using personal devices for their work may be on unpatched virus networks, connected to unsecured legacy networks, and may not have a secure password protection method in place. Even if employees are using authorized work devices, they may avail it for personal use.?

To combat any such risk associated with lack of security, businesses should focus on integrating solutions that enhance user endpoint security and ensure that these solutions are compliant with international data privacy laws. Cloud PC providers, [3], and Endpoint security providers [4] can ebb the endpoint security issues while data governance providers [5] safeguard the businesses from any unauthorized data access issue and compliance with international data privacy laws, especially when it comes to strict end-user privacy regulations.?

Adopt a Zero-Trust Approach?

Bank of North Dakota's report[6] states that 81% of hacking-related breaches leveraged either stolen or weak passwords. Employees should be aware of standard password practices such as using a long string of characters, mixing letters, numbers, and symbols, frequently changing their passwords every two to three months, and not using the same password for multiple applications.?

While employees should focus on enhancing security from their end, businesses can integrate Single-sign solutions, which eases off the burden from the employees. There are many SSO providers to choose from that can integrate with all of your end-user applications and your data governance platforms. [7]??

Know your employees

Understanding the types of employees in your organization and their habits will allow you to implement any policy effortlessly. Majorly, employees can be divided into three personas:?

Least Aware of Security Risks

These employees have low interest in technology, have not been exposed to new technologies, or are unwilling to change their habits. These employees must be given special attention, a prolonged learning curve to catch up.

Adequately Aware of Security Risks

These employees are adequately aware of the security risks. However, they do not go to great lengths to stay on top of their security. They are more focused on user experience and workflow and may use applications that prioritize that over safety.?

Most Aware of Security Risks

These employees always take security measures for whatever they do, even for their personal devices. They are willing to take that extra step, which may hinder their productivity but provides additional security.?

To develop a security-first culture to aid remote teams in doing their job, businesses should ensure that whatever options they choose, keep all these different personas in mind.?

To sum it up

As organizations transition to a remote workforce, integrating modern remote work and cyber security policies is imperative to safeguard data. Even in companies with good cybersecurity practices in place, there is a tendency to slack off.?

Especially in remote teams, employees will be more prone to shortcuts if stringent security practices are not in place. The key to transforming an organization's security culture is to align employees' security beliefs and awareness with their habits and blend humanity and technology to create a seamless end-user experience without compromising on security.?