//////////////////
PUI CHI LI, HEAD OF
MARKETING FOR
THE MIDDLE EAST
AND AFRICA, XEROX
W
e expect more and more connected devices to emerge
to support the IoT trend and we are not talking
about laptops, phones and tablets but many other
smart workplace devices that are now connected to the internet.
Connectivity and accessibility from
multiple internal and external networks
create higher cybersecurity risks. Some
industry predictions say that the number
of connected devices will exceed 50
billion by 2020.
In order to stay threat free, organisations
should be very careful when choosing
office equipment and always pay a lot of
attention to the type of embedded security
solutions their preferred brand offers.
Often office machines become the first
point of entry for cyber criminals as their
security is not well taken care of and by
being connected to the office network
these devices often work as the access
bridge to sensitive data.
Growing mobility and connectivity
influenced by the IoT creates bigger
security risks. Digital transformation is
not a simple process of companies going
digital and accessing their information as
well as devices remotely, it also concerns
higher exposure to cyber predators with
more room for mistakes.
In order to avoid security breaches,
we believe three key elements
should be considered by any
organisation when it comes to
managing employees’ behaviour:
1. Change management should be
approached very seriously and
30
INTELLIGENTCIO
EDITOR’S QUESTION
no matter how small and insignificant the shift of the office
IT environment is, it is important to not only educate all the
employees about introduced innovation but to monitor their
acceptance and response to it. Change management is a
process that needs to be followed very
meticulously to avoid security disasters
in situations where certain employees
did not feel comfortable with the
innovation and didn’t realise potential
dangers were represented by disregard
towards new processes or rules.
“
OFTEN OFFICE
MACHINES
BECOME THE
FIRST POINT OF
ENTRY FOR CYBER
CRIMINALS AS
THEIR SECURITY
IS NOT WELL
TAKEN CARE OF
AND BY BEING
CONNECTED
TO THE OFFICE
NETWORK THESE
DEVICES OFTEN
WORK AS THE
ACCESS BRIDGE
TO SENSITIVE
DATA.
2. External device guidelines should
be strict and straightforward. The
BYOD trend is beautiful and game
changing but allowing people to
connect to multiple networks using
their devices carries potential risks.
Therefore personalised access to office
equipment is very important as well as
the network infrastructure set-up. We
believe that while office equipment
connectivity drives better collaboration
and promotes work efficiency, it also
carries higher security risks, therefore
end-point security solutions should be
a top priority for any organisation.
3. Constant education and updates on
how to stay resilient when it comes
to security. External drives, simple
access passwords and dangerous
websites are few of the security
breach sources employees should be
aware of. We will definitely see even
wider adoption of cloud computing
and people need to have a better
understanding of how clouds operate
and what dangers they present in
addition to their amazing properties
and increased mobility. n
www.intelligentcio.com