by Patricia Lundy

As the world gets smaller, security becomes even more critical. While we have stressed the importance for enterprises to develop an information privacy strategy to protect their users’ information, there are additional cybersecurity threats CIOs and Security Leaders need to be aware of in the pandemic era. This blog will overview these threats and how a modern security and privacy platform can keep your enterprise protected, while still allowing your employees to be productive.

Threat 1: Legacy Antivirus Software

Antivirus software has been a standard part of any enterprise cybersecurity strategy. But the problem is that legacy antivirus solutions suffer from the need to perform routine checks that can damage productivity and place strain on enterprise computer systems, especially at scale. Even more importantly, antivirus solutions of yesterday were developed within a security model that doesn’t address the kinds of privacy challenges that CIOs and Security Leaders are facing in today’s enterprise. Relying on an antiquated solution can leave your enterprise vulnerable to security breaches.

Aragon recommends replacing your old antivirus software with new platforms that offer streamlined approaches driven by automation, AI, and cryptographic innovation. These solutions go beyond antivirus to provide protections for privacy and state-of-the-art data security. You’ll not only be protected from keyloggers and phishing attempts, but from more sophisticated cybersecurity breaches. We’ve profiled some of these modern security and privacy platforms in our Hot Vendors in Security and Privacy, 2020 research report.

Threat 2: Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

Today’s cyber attacks are sophisticated: they’re not relying on just one application but on exploiting multiple at the same time. Operating systems, flash players, PDF viewers, and more are all being exploited. These new advanced persistent threats come in millions of different malware variations and can be difficult to detect until it’s too late and your system is already compromised.

Part of your cybersecurity strategy needs to include a comprehensive method of monitoring your networks to detect vulnerabilities or anomalous activities across all channels. This is something that modern security and privacy platforms do well.

Threat 3: Everyday Applications Present Data Theft Opportunities

Who has time to read the terms and conditions of every single application or social media platform they use? If you’re not reading it, chances are your employees aren’t, either.

Everyday applications can present a cybersecurity and privacy threat. A security and privacy platform can help to mitigate these threats. 

Oftentimes, the fine print can detail how the application will collect and share your information with others. Even if the application is ‘free’ or zero-cost, there’s always a price to pay, and enterprises are currently paying for it with threats to user privacy. In fact, Facebook itself found that third party apps connected to Facebook were harvesting data from 9.5 million users a day.

The strategy you have in place now most likely isn’t enough—antivirus and endpoint protection platforms only do part of the job. A security and privacy platform goes beyond just managing threats to also stop the direct theft of critical identity data, other user data, and enterprise data.

Threat 4: Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware viruses disable the enterprise system until a ransom is paid. They can be incredibly difficult to recover from, taking a major hit on enterprise revenue and productivity, not to mention the devastation of morale. Enterprises need a solution that is actively working to prevent this before it happens versus a reactive approach, and modern security and privacy platforms do just that.

Threat 5: Remote Work

Employees around the world are increasingly working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and even after the worst of the outbreak is over, remote work is going to become an increasingly normal part of the employee work journey. The challenge for CIOs is that remote employees can pose more of a security risk because they are no longer under the direct supervision of IT.

As analyst Betsy Burton writes in her latest blog on information privacy, “as teams migrate away from on-premise networks towards more distributed setups, new privacy issues are cropping up.” Modern security and privacy platforms offer protection for remote workers against potential security threats across endpoints. This is something enterprises should seriously consider as we move forward into the post-pandemic world.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that CIOs need to look at updating or supplementing their current cybersecurity technologies with a modern platform that is capable of thwarting the most sophisticated attacks. As technologies evolve, hackers evolve, too. Enterprises need to ensure their employees are protected, especially in a remote work-dominated environment.

Continue the conversation on security with us by registering for our upcoming free webinar on how to win the privacy war.