According to hybrid work statistics, a vast majority of people (98%) would love to work remotely part-time throughout their careers. In fact, 68% of employees are currently working remotely at least once a month, while 52% do so once a week.

This has forced business leaders to embrace a hybrid work structure, but just like everything else, the hybrid workplace has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Yes, it does give employees more flexibility but it also threatens their cybersecurity. While remote work gives employees more autonomy and freedom, it can create divisions between remote and in-house teams. On one hand, it can help you cut down on costs and increase productivity, but at the cost of negatively affecting customer experience.

Moreover, some businesses and industries are not the right fit for hybrid work; which means that it is not everybody’s cup of tea. It can have some security implications for your business as well. If you are interested in knowing about the cybersecurity challenges you may encounter by embracing a hybrid work model, you are at the right place.

In this article, you will learn about five emerging cybersecurity challenges from a hybrid workplace that you should prepare for.

5 Cybersecurity Challenges for Hybrid Workplace

Here are five future cybersecurity challenges for a hybrid workplace that you should be aware of.

1.   Remote Workers Can Be a Soft Target

When you are working remotely, you are usually connected to the internet through an unsecured wireless network. Hackers can easily hack it and gain access to sensitive data. To make matters worse, some remote workers don’t even follow password best practices and share their laptops with family members, which increases the cybersecurity risk. In some cases, they might even use their personal mobile devices for work, which can have disastrous security consequences.

Lack of visibility, protection and updates can make remote workers a soft target for cybercriminals. Businesses should provide separate work devices to employees for remote work. Encourage employees to practice cybersecurity hygiene and use safer authentication methods to log in to their accounts. Implementing multi-factor authentication can also go a long way towards protecting your employees from getting hacked.

2.   Remote Work Infrastructure is the New Target

Cybercriminals are not only targeting remote workers; they are also launching attacks to hit your remote work infrastructure. They know that since most businesses have adopted remote work, derailing the remote work infrastructure can cut off the connection between remote workers and employers. They are also familiar that most organizations are using cloud-based tools, which is why we are seeing an uptick in the number of cloud-based attacks.

What can you do to protect your remote work infrastructure in such a situation? Create a remote work policy and provide limited access to remote employees. Additionally, ask your employees to use a secure VPN. You can also implement a multi-device management system to keep track of devices accessing your resources.

3.   Lack of Monitoring of Virtual Workspaces

Unlike a traditional office environment, your security team does not have visibility into virtual workspaces. They don’t have the same level of control over devices and networks that remote workers are using. This creates weak links in your security which cybercriminals exploit. They can easily track remote workers by launching phishing attacks, and by the time your security team discovers the attack, it is usually too late. If your remote workers are working with web applications, you can ask them to use a web application firewall.

4.   Absence of Data Protection and User Authentication

One of the biggest problems with remote work is that most remote workers use insecure devices which can easily be compromised. They connect to networks that are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. How can you keep your sensitive data safe while working remotely? The answer is to use encryption and safer user authentication methods. Encryption will prevent your data from getting accessed by cybercriminals. Secure user authentication can ensure that only the right user has access to their account and no one else could access that information.

5.   Exponential Rise of Social Engineering Attacks

Most remote workers lack cybersecurity awareness and hackers capitalize on it. They launch social engineering attacks such as spear phishing, delayed phishing and baiting to trick users into giving out their sensitive details such as personal, business or financial information. The best way to combat these types of attacks is to increase cybersecurity awareness amongst employees. Organize a cybersecurity training program for remote workers which can tell them how to detect and protect themselves from social engineering attacks.

Which cybersecurity challenges of a hybrid workplace are you currently facing? Share it with us in the comments section below.