How to Embed a Positive Security Culture in the COVID-19 Remote Working ‘New Normal’

The sharp rise in this type of attack reflects what hackers already know: that the human element of an organisation’s security is the weakest link. Of course, best practice network security relies on a number of elements but perhaps the hardest to establish is a positive security culture. CISOs have, however, struggled with this, even before the Covid-19 pandemic changed business practices. A survey of CISOs by ClubCISO reported that 49 per cent felt that organisational culture was already a block to them achieving their security objectives.

In a world where remote working has become the ‘new normal’, effectively engaging individuals is more important than ever. Understanding protocols and providing easy-to-understand training and awareness are crucial for every single user of a network system and this needs to be prioritised in the current climate. But it is equally important that employees feel able to report suspicious activity quickly and in full without fearing blame or repercussions. Without this element of positive security culture, the security policy could fail because employees will be reluctant to highlight suspicious activity, with potentially devastating consequences.

Effective Information Security Management
In the traditional setup, the CISO or ISM would be responsible for network security. Based on an office, they manage the protocols and policies for everything from regulatory and legal compliance to staff training and breach notification. Yet, with little time for preparation, many will be challenged, perhaps lacking the immediate knowledge or experience of how to translate these to the complexities of employees working from home offices.

This is not necessarily bad news but presents an opportunity for positive change. Now we are becoming used to the fact that employees no longer need to be office-based, we can take a step back and ask if the CISO actually needs to be resident within the bricks and mortar of an organisation? Would an outsourced (or virtual) CISO model not be equally well suited – if not better suited – to the ‘new normal’ of remote working?

Virtual CISOs are highly skilled professional teams, drawing on a wealth of experience, working with organisations to meet all the requirements of the CISO function. Individually assigned team members work remotely with an organisation, overseeing network security at all levels; from board-level engagement and compliance to effectively embedding a company-wide positive security culture.

It is also worth noting that they can be used for as much or as little as required, simply advising the resident CISO on strategy or developing and implementing the whole policy. Yet this best-practice alternative does not cost the earth. In fact, it is likely to cost significantly less than the traditional model, while delivering a service which is ideally suited to remote working.