Maintaining an Agile Cybersecurity Posture

A significant effect ofCOVID-19 and the sudden shift to work from home has been the acceleration ofdigitization, as IT professionals prioritized new technologies that fostered agilityin our remote and uncertain environment. While these new solutions enabledbusiness continuity, they opened the door to increased cybersecurity risks. Thepandemic served as a wakeup call for today's organizations that utilizing theinfrastructure, cybersecurity tools and protocol of the past is no longer anoption when looking to protect critical information.

Our recent survey commissioned in partnership with Angus Reid revealed that 75 percent of organizations are benefitting to varying degrees from the cybersecurity tools and/or solutions it's using. This is promising, but also reveals that 25 percent of Canadian organizations have room to improve in harnessing the full capabilities of these tools or solutions. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, organizations need to focus on ensuring that security strategies continue to evolve accordingly.

The challenging transition to remote work

Despite a net 86 percent of survey respondents who were alreadypermitted to work from home in some capacity before the pandemic, theaccelerated transition during the pandemic was not entirely smooth. Our surveyfound that 70 percent of respondents experienced some form of serviceinterruption. In navigating these working models, improved security controls arecrucial in ensuring these connections are trustworthy and secure asinfrastructures and policies of the past no longer apply.

Growth in adoption of cybersecurity solutions

Most organizations are now further along in their cybersecuritystrategies than they would have been without the pandemic. Our survey foundthat 73 percent of respondents noted the use of cloud-based technology hasimproved their organization's cybersecurity posture. Software as a service (SaaS)cloud technology experienced a renaissance with 35 percent of organizationsusing the tool amid the pandemic, compared to 29 percent pre-pandemic.

Our survey also revealed a slight increase in the adoption of artificialintelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), from 17 percent of organizations leveragingAI/ML pre-pandemic to 19 percent during the pandemic. Additionally, multi-factorauthentication (MFA) adoption increased to 61 percent amid the pandemic,compared to 54 percent pre-pandemic. This growth in adoption highlights thefact that today's organizations appreciate the improved security that thesetools can bring to organizations.

Key barriers to adoption

The consistency of budget as a barrier is alarming as it limits the abilityof organizations to effectively manage security needs in the expanded threatlandscape. Of those surveyed, 45 percent were limited by budget during thepandemic, compared to 46 percent pre-pandemic. Furthermore, the perceivedcomplexity of the project remains a key barrier, as 27 percent of respondents statedthis for both before and during COVID-19.

In the future, 48 percent of respondents anticipate budget constraintswill be the top barrier, 24 percent noted perceived complexity of projects and 17percent believe scale of data. Organizations need to rethink strategies and makeaccommodations for the new security landscape, as investments in security arevital to ensuring success now and in a post-COVID-19 era.

The importance of regular employee training

Concerningly, 17 percent of respondents cited their organization stillonly conducts cybersecurity training during the onboarding process, while 14percent noted their organization does not plan on holding employee training inthe future at all. As organizations take bold actions to ensure businesscontinuity during this highly disruptive period, this needs to be done in acyber-resilient way to help protect and future-proof organizations. Ensuringregular network reviews and testing, as well as fostering a security cultureamong employees through training necessary to mitigate potential risks.Afterall, employees are your first line of defence in preventing acyberincident from occurring.

Where do we go from here?

The ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic has led ITprofessionals to continue adapting and evolving their cybersecurity posturewhile carefully planning for the office environment of the future. To addressthe changing demands of this new terrain and achieve an optimized securityframework, organizations should bear these key points in mind:

• Organizational success will require agility: Organizations need to recognize how the pandemic has shifted their security and adapt by making the necessary adjustments through policy and technology adoption.  
• Ensure your cybersecurity posture meets the organizational needs: Continually assess your organization's cybersecurity infrastructure and work to rectify any gaps.
• Investing in cybersecurity is vital: While some organizations see cost as a barrier, investment in cybersecurity optimization is crucial to ensuring security today and in future work environments.

If you're interested in learning more about improving your organization's cybersecurity posture or would like to know how to get started, contact our CDW cybersecurity experts at 800.972.3922 or visit cdw.ca/cybersecurity. The full managing security market trends report is available here.