VPNs And The Growing Need For Cybersecurity Education

Although constant changes in the technology landscape are certainly not a new phenomenon, they have reached new heights in the last few years. The word “disorganization” aptly describes the experiences of countless organizations amid COVID-19 and its effect on business, technology, and cybersecurity.

Here, we will look at the importance and growing need for knowing as much as possible about how to protect your data and sensitive information as we move forward in a Cloud-based business landscape. Many business owners are now looking at how they can bolster their cybersecurity moving forward. One of the first steps is understanding exactly what a VPN server is and how this technology can help to protect your business moving forward. 

Let’s take a closer look at what a VPN is and how it can help you with your cybersecurity efforts. 

What Is A VPN And What Is It Used For?

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) connect you to the Internet by providing a secure network connection. By protecting your online traffic and data, you can access unrestricted content online and enjoy unrestricted browsing. Running your business network without a VPN can put your data and information at risk, allowing anyone with the right skills to access your sensitive business data with relative ease.

Hybrid Offices And Cybersecurity

Our living and working environment has been redesigned by the pandemic. Many companies are slowly returning to offices while a large percentage of the workforce continues to work remotely. A new report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) suggests that more Australians are working from home despite relaxed COVID restrictions.

In the study, 67% of the employed respondents said they worked from home sometimes or always, an increase from 42% pre-COVID. Looking to the future, nine out of ten Australians want to continue to work from home, and in five years, almost a third of respondents expect their jobs to be obsolete. What’s more, over half of Australians believe there are few stable, long-term jobs in the future, showcasing the impact that technology is having on the future for many businesses and individuals alike.

Challenge For Businesses

Businesses face a permanent cyber risk regardless of whether their employees are onsite or remote. As many businesses move to either a remote or hybrid setup, there is an increasing number of challenges that they will face. For example, cyber-attacks are becoming more prevalent on remote work infrastructure as more companies are increasingly relying on cloud technology and leveraging remote connectivity tools like VPNs to enable remote work. During the last year, hackers have exploited vulnerabilities in VPN gateways to launch cyber-attacks against cloud services.

Remote Workers And Cybersecurity

It is easier for criminals to target remote workers. Wi-Fi security that is weak or nonexistent, laptops shared among family members, firewalls that are not activated, unsecured mobile devices, poor security practices, etc., are some of the nightmares security professionals have to deal with on a regular basis with remote workers. Remote workers may also lack internet connectivity or insufficient bandwidth, which may delay software patching, leaving vulnerable areas for hackers to exploit.

To overcome these issues, authentication and data protection must be strengthened. The ever-increasing reliance on the internet makes it much harder to protect sensitive information. Sensitive data requires a stronger set of controls than is normally found in a standard corporate office environment and business owners must put cybersecurity measures in place to keep their remote workers, and their data, protected.

Cybersecurity Will Become Even More Important In The Near Future

Cyber-threats have not been created by the pandemic, but the new uptake of remote work has certainly accelerated their prevalence. Despite being the weakest link in every cybersecurity program, humans are also its most powerful ally. As we move into this new remote work environment, business owners need to take the right approach to cybersecurity and educate their teams on its importance to ensure their organization remains protected moving forward.

This article has been scheduled in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.