Cyber in Isolation

We’ve all known that paper files and Post-It notes weren’t going to cut it for much longer. But before Zoom became a household name, an IT department may have seemed more like a luxury than a necessity. As we all scrambled to adapt, technology has become an integral part of the workday for many of us.

With open arms we embrace it as our new normal. Well, either way, it doesn’t look like life will settle back into pre-pandemic normalcy for quite a while yet. So the technology we’ve already recognized as essential may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Remote work definitely has its pros but it brings new challenges as well. You might find the way your team handled certain tasks is no longer feasible in a virtual workplace and certain tools just aren’t as useful. How you build your relationships with both customers and suppliers may need to be adjusted to account for less irl face time or none at all. And maintaining a positive work culture may be a challenge especially if individuals aren’t sure how to communicate effectively in this new environment.

Fortunately, this isn’t totally unexplored territory: many companies experienced these problems well before SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) was a thing and have already created tools to help overcome them. With so many web-based solutions for internal communication, project management, ticketing, and customer relationship management, there’s bound to be an option out there that will fit your need, and your budget.

Of course, using online tools means dealing with new and different security concerns, some of which may be outside of your control. For example, you may be able to provide workers with laptops that are up-to-date and secure; but if someone’s home network is compromised, how can you ensure that your company’s information isn’t exposed? Should you be concerned about that possibility? Consider these questions:

If you were able to answer “no” to all those, that’s great! In your rare case, security isn’t necessarily crucial because you don’t provide or collect sensitive information online. For the rest of us, though, we’ll need to consider possible security holes and the cost vs. benefit of the products and services that will mitigate them. There are options for every level of protection—from blasé to cyber-paranoid—so you’ll need to find your sweet spot.

But security isn’t an exact science: even the most carefully crafted security measures can be breached. This is where cyber insurance picks up the slack. In the case of a successful cyber attack on your business, with cyber insurance you’ve still got another layer of protection.

As businesses become more reliant on technology and web-based solutions during this unprecedented time, that reliance should result in a proportional awareness of the attendant risk. Ideally, while Zoom (et al) embeds itself deep into the human psyche, cyber coverage shouldn’t be far behind.