Is Your Workforce Truly Protected from Browser-Borne Malware in a Globally Distributed World?

As employees return to the office, one thing is clear: hybrid work is here to stay. Companies across industries have embraced flexible work arrangements that allow employees to split time between office and remote environments. At the same time, distributed workforces—where employees, contractors, and partners operate from various locations using both managed and unmanaged devices—are becoming the norm. Yet according to a recent Gartner report, 90% of organizations do not configure browsers in their environments, leaving them dangerously exposed to browser-borne threats that sneak in under the radar.

This trend is especially prevalent in industries like:

• Technology: Developers, IT professionals, and remote support teams frequently operate from distributed locations.
• Healthcare: Clinicians, researchers, and administrative staff work across offices, clinics, and remote setups.
• Financial Services: Advisors, analysts, and auditors often access corporate resources from home or while traveling.
• Professional Services: Consultants and lawyers regularly work from their home offices or client's sites.
• Manufacturing: Companies in the manufacturing sector typically have factories in multiple geographic locations, including outside the US.
• Education: Teachers, administrators, and IT teams manage resources remotely while collaborating with in-person staff.

Despite the flexibility and productivity hybrid work provides, it also introduces significant cybersecurity risks—especially from browser-borne malware. Organizations must adapt their strategies to protect their distributed workforces, particularly those accessing corporate systems from unmanaged devices.

The Challenges of Traditional Cybersecurity Solutions

Legacy Endpoint Security

Traditional endpoint solutions are designed for managed devices with corporate-installed security agents. While these tools are effective in centralized office environments, they offer little to no protection for unmanaged devices that IT teams can’t control—like personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones commonly used in hybrid setups.

VPNs and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

VPNs and ZTNA frameworks secure connections to corporate networks, but they fall short when it comes to browser-specific threats. Phishing sites, malicious extensions, and drive-by malware attacks target browsers directly and often occur before secure connections are even established, leaving organizations exposed.

CASB and SASE Solutions

CASBs and SASE frameworks have emerged as essential tools for managing cloud applications and securing remote access. However, these solutions primarily focus on controlling access and preventing data loss within cloud environments, not on securing browsers themselves. This creates a critical gap for companies with distributed workforces relying on unmanaged devices.

Unmanaged Devices: A Persistent Vulnerability

In a distributed and hybrid world, unmanaged devices are everywhere. Employees frequently use personal laptops to check emails, access customer information, or collaborate via SaaS platforms like Salesforce, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. These devices introduce unique risks:

1. Malicious Browser Extensions: Rogue extensions can track activity, harvest credentials, and exfiltrate sensitive data—often without the user or IT team noticing.
2. Phishing and Credential Theft: Sophisticated phishing campaigns bypass traditional security measures to hijack user sessions, even when MFA is in place.
3. Shadow IT: Employees use unsanctioned apps and services through browsers, creating security and compliance challenges.
4. Lack of Visibility: IT teams have no way to monitor or manage browser activity on personal devices, leaving significant blind spots.

Hybrid Work Isn’t Going Anywhere—Neither Are These Risks

Hybrid work may look different as employees spend more time in the office, but the reality is that flexible, distributed workforces are now standard practice in many industries. Workers expect the ability to access corporate resources securely, whether they’re at home, in the office, or on the go. Attackers know this—and they’re evolving their tactics to exploit the gaps in traditional cybersecurity solutions.

What’s Needed: A New Approach to Browser Security

Securing distributed and hybrid workforces requires a fresh approach that focuses on the browser as the primary interface for work. Companies need tools that:

• Provide Real-Time Protection: Detect and block browser-based threats like phishing, malicious extensions, and data exfiltration before they cause harm.
• Deliver Visibility Across All Devices: Give IT teams granular insight into browser activity on both managed and unmanaged devices without compromising privacy.
• Enforce Security Policies at the Browser Level: Enable IT to control browser configurations, block risky extensions, and restrict access to sensitive data, regardless of the device.
• Leverage Unified Browser Security (UBS): While major browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Safari offer powerful security features, they are often underutilized due to complexity. UBS simplifies the process by enabling organizations to configure, manage, and enforce these capabilities across devices—seamlessly and consistently.
• Preserve Productivity and User Experience: Secure workers without disrupting their workflows, ensuring a seamless experience whether they’re in the office, at home, or traveling.

This browser-centric approach is critical for enabling secure, flexible work without compromising efficiency.

How Acium Can Help

At Acium, we’re redefining what it means to secure and manage browsers in today’s hybrid and distributed work environments. Our Unified Browser Security? (UBS) platform is purpose-built to protect organizations from browser-borne malware, especially for those using unmanaged devices.

With Acium, your organization can:

• Gain real-time visibility into browser activity across both managed and unmanaged devices.
• Leverage advanced configuration and management tools to fully utilize built-in browser security features.
• Detect and block malicious extensions, phishing attacks, and other browser-based threats.
• Provide seamless, secure access for employees in any work environment—without disrupting productivity.

As hybrid work environments continue to evolve, the browser has become the primary gateway to your organization's resources. Learn how Acium's Unified Browser Security platform can help protect your distributed workforce at acium.io, or experience our solution with a free two-week trial.

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Are browser-borne threats exposing your hybrid workforce to unnecessary risk? Let’s talk about how Unified Browser Security can help close the gap.