The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business landscape has been astronomical. No matter which industry you work in, there’s no doubt that things like social distancing and quarantine have forced your organisation into a new environment. For many companies, thriving in this landscape means considering various crucial updates.
Contact centres are moving to the cloud, employees are operating from home, and everyday operations are becoming more diverse. This transformation presents management challenges for business leaders but also has an impact on another area too: security.
As interactions increase, and the channels that we communicate through diversify, how do we ensure that companies are protecting their consumers from various kinds of risks? I caught up with Vincent Lomba, the Chief Technical Security Officer for ALE, to discuss the security concerns that business leaders must consider today.
What Impact Has the Pandemic Had on Security?
Vincent Lomba is the Chief Technical Security Officer from ALE, one of the world’s leading companies for communication and customer engagement tools. Vincent has an extensive background in IT, telecom, and network marketing, as well as years of involvement with various operational activities in the technology field. I asked him what impact he believes the pandemic has had on security from a communications perspective.
Lomba told me that many big companies that were already prepared to send employees into remote environments have been rushing to roll out these larger, “work anywhere” solutions. “We’ve seen a lot of requests from these companies to deploy full remote working solutions with the right security systems in place. Most organisations don’t have a lot of control over the homework environment, and they can’t ask employees to handle security on their own.”
According to Vincent, ALE’s solutions are secure by design, which reduces the amount of strain on companies switching to the remote working environment. Many mid-sized companies are now also looking for more secure rollout solutions for their remote working companies too, and these organisations have less access to in-house security.
How Are Consumer Needs Changing?
The rise of remote and flexible working requirements mean that ALE and similar companies are dealing with a rapid change to what their customers and end-users need. There are more requests from partners to comply with market standards for security and privacy, and the landscape, in general, is changing on a substantial level too.
The switch to a digital environment has led to a rapid increase in attacks from a phishing and ransomware perspective, and this is a serious concern for the increasing numbers of remote workers in the space. Worrying concepts like Bitcoin and the Dark Web are creating concerns for a lot of consumers and end-users. With cyber threats on the rise, companies need to work harder than ever to protect their consumers, their employees, and their digital reputations.
“To deal with this new landscape, we’re going beyond just delivering solutions that are secure by design. We’re helping companies with best practices to ensure that they can configure their network for security. We can offer recommended tools for cyphering algorithms and set up strategies with firewalls, VPNs, and proxies. These security strategies ensure that companies of all sizes can stay protected in a new environment, and there’s no need for extensive support from an IT professional.”
How Can Companies Protect Their Digital Reputation?
According to Lomba, one of the biggest concerns for businesses moving into the digital landscape right now is finding a way to maintain their digital reputation. Customer needs are expanding, with expectations placing new levels of pressure on businesses of all sizes. Some major French companies need to show they can comply with various aspects of French law, while businesses elsewhere in the world have all kinds of local and industry-specific compliance issues to consider.
“Part of maintaining and improving the digital reputation for most businesses involves simply being able to show that you’re certified for specific things. Demonstrating that you’re compliant with the latest requirements is essential. We can provide our business partners and consumers with the tools they need to proactively protect against security issues, compliance problems, and more.”
Vincent told me that ALE believes it’s important to be proactive in this environment and make sure that companies are equipped to deal with any data breaches that come their way. At the same time, they need to provide business partners with the means to overcome issues when they arise. “Anticipation is the keyword here. Our solutions are designed to be secure, but we can react to any potential issues that might arise too.”
How Can Companies Prepare for 2021?
According to Lomba, preparing for 2021 means companies need to ensure that they have the right strategy in place going forward. All of the security solutions that companies currently have access to need to expand to cover a wider and broader environment. As networks continue to grow, businesses of all sizes need to rethink what kind of support and compliance they need.
“All organisations need to have the right security concerns in mind. Risk levels are huge when you don’t understand what’s actually at risk. When you know what your landscape is exposed to, you can begin to mitigate threats”
Vincent recommends that companies take an in-depth look at their organisations, addressing everything from how employees communicate and collaborate, to where potential issues might lie with communication. Examining everything from redundancy and protected access networks on-premises, to firewalls and VPNs in the cloud will be essential.
Taking a full and comprehensive look at the current landscape will allow companies to determine what kind of network protection strategies they need. For instance, ALE can offer companies the tools they need to be compliant with local and global certification, through Rainbow ISO certifications, GDPR compliance, and more.
ALE also offers access to secure connectivity in the cloud, with mutual authentication and encryption elements, better communication confidentiality in meetings, and data privacy and control within the cloud. Using an end-to-end solution to cover the evolving business security environment will ensure that teams can thrive safely in any new environment.
