6 Cyber Security Challenges That Hybrid Office May Face

Businesses worldwide have adopted the hybrid work model and have accepted it as the new normal. You would have noticed that both employers and employees have positively responded to this idea and believe this could be beneficial for both parties. However, the cybersecurity challenges in this work model cannot be ignored and requires immediate action.

As an HR manager, you must create an effective action plan for cybersecurity challenges and solutions. You might have seen that office workers are rejoining offices these days, but the hybrid workforce is still functional, and so are the related challenges. It is vital to know these challenges beforehand so that you can timely plan remote work security efficiently and deal with them.

The good news is, we have shared those challenges in detail in this article, so reading further would give you a clearer idea. So, without any delay, let’s have a look at them.

1. Remote Work Model is Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks

Your remote team is usually more vulnerable to cyberattacks. You can say that the reason behind this dilemma is the excessive use of cloud technology. Companies use cloud technology to communicate with their remote teams. Once they shift to cloud technology, they have to opt for certain remote connectivity tools to communicate with their team effectively.

One quite common tool that we see here is VPN, which is the hottest in the market. Hackers love this tool that has certain vulnerabilities, which makes it act like a bridge through which hackers can easily exploit any business for their benefit. Nevertheless, this is not the only cyberattack challenge that businesses could face.

We think that you would have heard the name of brute-force attacks. Well, these attacks have become much more common ever since companies have shifted towards remote workforces. In the meantime, Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has experienced an exponential increase in these attacks, making the situation even more challenging. 

2. Remote Workers Have Weaker Cyber Security

When office workers are hybrid working, they have their personal PCs instead of the company’s PC. Unlike a company's PC, personal laptops are not much well-encrypted, so they are usually powerless in terms of providing greater security and protection to your sensitive data.

Remote workers usually have weak Wi-Fi security. They are usually sharing devices with their family members, and like you must have anticipated, there is an absence of any effective firewall as well. When workers have weak security and devices that are vulnerable to nearly any sort of cyberattack, the chances of facing cybercrime challenges increase.

Therefore, as an HR manager, it becomes difficult for you to manage these attacks and keep a keen check on your system’s security. 

3. Remote Workers Often Have a Lack of Internet Connectivity

Remote workers have their own internet connections; this means you could not be able to control their connectivity issues. This often results in poor bandwidth at their end, which makes their connection weaker.

What you notice in consequence is a delay in software update patching. The delays eventually create loopholes in the system. Hence, it becomes more vulnerable to cyberattacks and causes cybersecurity challenges.

In addition, remote workers often use shadow IT and unauthorized software due to a lack of knowledge in this regard. Thus, the business becomes further vulnerable to hackers and cyberattacks.

4. Businesses Need Stronger Data Protection

One of the major cybersecurity challenges is the need for effective and efficient data protection and data authentication mechanisms in the remote setting. Since you are aware that the remote work technology has expanded your company's internet-based parameters, you’ve got to utilize valid measures to deal with them. The work from home security software can be a functional solution in this regard.

You could do all this quite conveniently in pre-covid days, but now the system requires immediate cybersecurity action in this regard. Faking digital identity is an easy task, as PII, emails, website visits, dark web data bumps, and online purchases make it easier for hackers to create a fake identity. So, you must strengthen the barriers on this ground, which itself is quite a difficult task. 

5. Remote Workforce is Not Subjected to Physical Security and Monitoring

In a traditional office, workers went through physical security checks, which made it easier for companies to monitor who is entering their space. Unfortunately, you cannot do this in a virtual space. In addition, the disposal of any sensitive information was easier in the former setting, but now businesses are facing problems in doing that.

Holding information for a longer duration is itself a challenge in virtual space because their security becomes more vulnerable over time due to a lack of monitoring and difficulty in disseminating any sensitive information in this setting. 

6. Remote Workers are More Vulnerable to Phishing and Vishing

The cybersecurity challenges on your hybrid remote teams are such that, in most cases, you cannot control them. Since people are easily distracted in a remote work setting, the business overall becomes prone to social engineering scams such as phishing and vishing. Such a loss is often irreversible and can impact any business's image and investment quite badly.

Workers may think that they can get away with such scams, but the hackers and cybercriminals are well aware of their psych. Thus, they use any loophole at your end to breach your system and impact your company's reputation.

All these cybercrime challenges can be fatal for your business and might even result in a complete shutdown. So, immediate action is vital in this regard. The greatest of all challenges in these times is to create a team that runs efficiently in this setting without getting distracted and taking the work seriously.