Is your tech stack protecting you from potential cybercrime?

There has been a big focus on the rapid adoption of hybrid work, and with many Australians making the gradual return to the office, it has become an increasingly preferred way of work. Correspondingly, cybercrime has skyrocketed since this widespread adoption and poses a great threat to Australian organisations. In fact, the Australian Cyber Security Center found that cybercrime activity is reported every eight minutes, with a 13 per cent increase of activity in the previous year.

Hybrid working has placed a whole new vulnerability to workflows as there is less collaboration in person and an increased reliance on content built and stored in the cloud. Meaning that the security of an organisation’s content infrastructure is more important than ever before. 

With the right tech stack and correct training, organisations can ensure their content is securely stored and safely shared.

Security is not a product, but a process

A concept that champions connectivity throughout the workplace is the digital HQ, and as we continue to thrive in a digital world, it becomes important for organisations to enable their employees to work securely from any location. To do this, businesses must employ the right tech stack.

With the move to hybrid and remote working, every piece of work has become online content. The digital HQ houses every piece of content, which often lives and breathes in the cloud. An increased dependency on the digital HQ should encourage organisations to consider the correct security measures for their content. It’s extremely important for content to be secure throughout the tech stack, particularly as content moves and is shared throughout the organisation.

As such, an essential component to any tech stack is security. Organisations need to be conscious when integrating new applications within their tech stacks and ensure that procuring software requirements are considered as well as consistent review cycles. These security measures are not a one-off consideration that business owners can throw to the bottom of the to-do list. It must be embedded into applications and constantly updated to ensure measures are protecting against newer cyber threats. Having a proxy service often helps to avoid the threads. So many people buy residential proxies to ensure their online security.

Security in content 

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of Australian and New Zealand CIOs will invest more on cybersecurity in 2022 as a result of greater cyber regulation and threats. Correspondingly we’re seeing two major pain points for organisations – first, having security and efficiency in all document creation and second, sufficient document metadata processes from the very start.

To achieve security and efficiency in all document creation across the workplace, these elements should be introduced into content workflows. This can be done by integrating an enterprise identity management, like Single Sign On (SSO). SSO and other existing content applications gather content and employee information to ensure accurate information is securely delivered to employees inside the applications they’re already using to create documents, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace. 

Moreover, setting up document metadata processes from the very start allows employees to automate the content creation process. With little to no user input required, employees can create documents that are correctly classified according to pre-set company policies that in turn integrate to existing data loss prevention tools reducing the risk of data leak and breaches.

Staying ahead of cyber attackers 

Technology is ever evolving and correspondingly, hackers are constantly finding new ways to enter systems and access data. Meaning that companies must consistently stay on top of security policies. Those who are strongly attentive to the latest security threats can reduce the risk of potential harm to their data.

To do this, organisations must start with analyzing their tech stack – especially those who are embracing the hybrid work world. Any application being incorporated into a company tech stack should be considered through the lens of two points: proactive vulnerability scanning and a zero-trust approach. 

• Proactive Vulnerability Scanning: Proactively scanning each and every solution in your tech stack is essential to creating a secure hybrid environment. This type of scanning allows teams to be alerted to close any gaps so they can proactively respond to maintain strong security. For example, the recent Log4Shell vulnerability would be found during this kind of proactive scan.  
• Zero-Trust Approach: This is imperative to creating a secure hybrid working environment due to employees leaving the once secure boundaries of traditional office network environments. The zero-trust approach allows organizations to control access to all endpoints from any location the employee is working from, in turn protecting against any cybercrime risks that are potentially exposed due to remote working. For example, implementing the principle of least privilege, every request is inspected, users and devices are authenticated before access is granted, and this access or trust is continually reassessed as any context changes, such as the user's location or the data being accessed. This makes it harder for malicious actors who may have compromised a device to gain access to any confidential content as a result of being untrusted.

Smart, digital HQ

Prioritising security in your tech stack is essential in today’s hybrid working world. As organisations commit to a security-first mindset in a cyber heavy work environment, upholding strong privacy and security standards are not only critical to business success but also attractive to the potential market pool and consumers.

With the favourable adoption of hybrid working, organisations are working tirelessly to engage with new technologies and stacks to ease the workplace. Harvesting a security-first mindset will permit organisations more time to increase workflow efficiency and reduce the risk of cybercrime because of their security measures.