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The Big Picture: Cybersecurity—Where Remote Work Gets Really Precarious

No one was prepared for the dynamic events of the last two years, changing the way we work and interact. Surviving this as a company has meant adapting to a new work environment, with businesses across the globe placing emphasis on remote work. While this has been advantageous for workers and companies alike, it has placed enormous strain on existing security systems unequipped to handle such situations. 

I especially like this quote from security expert and Harvard adjunct lecturer Bruce Schneier: “Security is not a product but a process.” Here’s how it went for me. 

In the 1990s at Cimnet, we mainly relied on local area networks to connect desktops and laptops in the office using ethernet. Most users didn’t have a direct connection to the internet. Email was hosted locally typically using Microsoft Exchange server with a highly monitored gateway to the outside. Back then, most users thought AOL was the internet. The idea of cloud computing was a new idea. One of the first books I read about cloud computing was The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, written by Nicholas Carr in 2013. He draws an elegant parallel between the late 19-century electrification of America and today’s world of computing. He essentially predicted that computing would turn into a utility—the basic idea of software and computing as a service. 

In the ‘90s, we typically achieved peak security through basic systems and general awareness, for example, not engaging in suspicious encoded materials (scam emails, phone calls, etc.), limiting user access to our existing systems, controlling company tech through pre-established parameters, and firewalls. At the time, these were well intended and helpful measures. 

Today, linkage has scaled to having several hundred computing devices (laptops, phones, tablets, etc), almost all remote, interconnected to systems from half a dozen different countries, plugged into an online community spanning all over half the world. Considering each device incorporated into our ecosystem is a potential failure point in our security net, our previous security methodology became unmanageable. A system that allows us to grow our resiliency and efficiency was imperative. Enter in cloud computing and consolidated security systems. 

Not too long ago, we recognized our vulnerability to cybercrime and came up with an action plan to address it. At the time, while we had a working knowledge of security systems, we did not have a dedicated CISO or IT team. So, we started by hiring an IT firm, DeShik Labs (now called Exinous), to get outside perspective and input on our security deterrents and failure points. After some testing and review, it was determined the best course of action was to consolidate and streamline our security management, remove our legacy software systems, and move our databases and software ecosystems to a cloud infrastructure. This automated our security systems, which became a part of the cloud, allowing our company to achieve lean personnel on a 24/7 security monitoring system. Exinous, thankfully, was able to handle all of it.

Upon launching our new system, not only were we able to improve our efficiency company-wide, scale up production, and maintain current operational costs, but we also immediately saw the power of an integrated security system. Using cybersecurity mesh architecture (ZTNA), we were daily stopping attacks from random threat actors globally who were trying to overwhelm our systems and find weak points to extort us. Simultaneously, the mesh system isolated security events, keeping the security incident localized. This meant if someone’s remote workstation was compromised, the rest of the system would remain intact, uncorrupted, and unimpeded. 

By thinking practically about future work trends, the increase in malicious actors, and the universal rise of security breaches, our company has been able to adapt and change to accommodate the evolving landscape while continuing to reap the benefits of technological advancement. 

Giving our workers the remote flexibility they need to stay safe and productive while achieving high security standards has allowed us to remain a top competitor in our market, allowing us one less thing to worry about in this ever-changing digital age. 

Mehul J. Davé is CEO and chairman of Entelechy Global Inc. and chairman of Linkage Technologies Inc.