{"id":41696,"date":"2020-09-24T11:40:16","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=41696"},"modified":"2020-09-24T11:55:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:55:12","slug":"threat-or-opportunity-covid-19-looms-large-in-providing-security-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2020\/09\/threat-or-opportunity-covid-19-looms-large-in-providing-security-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Threat or Opportunity? COVID-19 Looms Large in Providing Security Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Suffice to say, COVID-19 heaped an unplanned fire drill of\nsorts on the business community when it came to town in mid-March. Companies\nlarge and small mobilized, kitchen tables were converted into home offices, and\npotted plants in offices across the country wilted from the lack of attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business community continues to learn more now about\nwhat it didn\u2019t know then. Certainly, companies made the best of a difficult\nsituation, and the lessons learned during the interim are going to forge a\nremote workplace revolution that always had the technology to become a reality,\nbut needed a nudge to move forward. All along, the need for security solutions\nfollowed workers home to their desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a situation that continues to be slowly rectified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Scott Anderson, Kelley Connect<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was such a rush to get everybody working from home\nthat it honestly wasn\u2019t always done in the best, most efficient or most secure\nfashion,\u201d notes Scott Anderson, senior vice president of IT for Kelley Connect\nof Kent, Washington. \u201cBut it\u2019s given us the opportunity, as things settle down\nsomewhat into a new normal, to have those conversations around security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson notes the ongoing conversation will gain more focus\nas the work-from-home landscape takes shape on the back end of the pandemic and\ncompanies decide to what degree it will continue. He believes it will \u201cdrive\nthe pipeline\u201d for remote work solutions and security in general moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mike Burgard, Marco<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the headline suggests, the pandemic has played the role\nof antagonist and opportunity generator. Mike Burgard, CISO for St. Cloud,\nMinnesota-based Marco, points out that many organizations had to call upon\nlegacy equipment to get all of its team members up and running from home, which\nopens the door to security risk. Data security\u2014in terms of location and how it\nwas accessed\u2014was an even greater concern. That led to a slew of reactive\nconversations regarding secure access, and in turn gave managed IT providers a\nconsultative inroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny time we can make things better and easier for the user,\nmake things more adaptive for their organization and improve security all at\nthe same time\u2026that doesn\u2019t happen very often,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a huge win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transformation by\nForce<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burgard noted a media report that suggested COVID-19 drove\nmore digital transformation than any CIO or CTO has in the last 10 years. Such\na pithy observation can provoke a wry grin, but while the business community\nmay have lost the \u201cproactive versus reactive\u201d battle, the war can be won by\nsecurity providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without work-from-home safeguarding, security-type events\nand their resulting trauma\u2014ransomware, phishing, wire fraud\u2014significantly\nincreased during the pandemic, Burgard notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are willing to do things they weren\u2019t willing to do\nbefore, because they understand their level of risk tolerance right now is\nreally pretty low, because of the financial impact COVID has had as well,\u201d\nBurgard said. \u201cI think maybe there\u2019s this misconception that all the organizations\nout there completely ratcheted up. (But) if there\u2019s an area where spending is\noccurring, it\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Keith Adams, Les Olson Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Keith Adams, vice president of IT for Les Olson Company of\nSalt Lake City, points out that there was a varying degree of work-from-home\npreparedness among the business community. A number of organizations were fully\nengaged and embraced the need for new\/enhanced systems to address remote work\nrequirements, and acknowledged the need for solutions to mitigate the dangers\nof an uncontrolled environment. Others, unprepared for the logistical and\nstructural changes, were loath to dedicate resources to securely lock down the\nremote landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversation Starter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do believe that the pandemic\nand its associated forced business changes indicate a shift in the work\nparadigm and will result in the new workplace model being conceptualized with a\nsplit role from now on,\u201d Adams said. \u201cIn the future I believe that this WILL\ncreate an environment where discussions around security and protocols to\nenforce protections and system resiliency will be much easier to have and will\nresult in much more activity around security offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jeff Leder, Impact Networking<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jeff Leder, director of managed IT security services\nfor Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, notes the number of new risk\naudits performed by the dealer were on the rise heading into 2020. Once the\npandemic hit, the requests dialed down as the business community held its\ncollective breath. Today, risk audits have caught fire and exceeded the\npre-COVID levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of those risk audit opportunities presents a chance for\nus to work with client organizations to implement better protection and\nsecurity, and further mitigate risks,\u201d Leder said. \u201cIt seems that after that\ninitial spike of concern, now more than ever organizations are recognizing\nthat, especially with the changes that occurred, security is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suffice to say, COVID-19 heaped an unplanned fire drill of sorts on the business community when it came to town in mid-March. Companies large and small mobilized, kitchen tables were converted into home offices, and potted plants in offices across the country wilted from the lack of attention. The business community continues to learn more now about what it didn\u2019t know then. Certainly, companies made the best of a difficult situation, and the lessons learned during the interim are going to forge a remote workplace revolution that always had the technology to become a reality, but needed a nudge to move forward. All along, the need for security solutions followed workers home to their desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. That\u2019s a situation that continues to be slowly rectified. \u201cThere was such a rush to get everybody working from home that it honestly wasn\u2019t always done in the best, most efficient or most secure fashion,\u201d notes Scott Anderson, senior vice president of IT for Kelley Connect of Kent, Washington. \u201cBut it\u2019s given us the opportunity, as things settle down somewhat into a new normal, to have those conversations around security.\u201d Anderson notes the ongoing conversation will gain more focus as the work-from-home landscape takes shape on the back end of the pandemic and companies decide to what degree it will continue. He believes it will \u201cdrive the pipeline\u201d for remote work solutions and security in general moving forward. As the headline suggests, the pandemic has played the role of antagonist and opportunity generator. Mike Burgard, CISO for St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Marco, points out that many organizations had to call upon legacy equipment to get all of its team members up and running from home, which opens the door to security risk. Data security\u2014in terms of location and how it was accessed\u2014was an even greater concern. That led to a slew of reactive conversations regarding secure access, and in turn gave managed IT providers a consultative inroad. \u201cAny time we can make things better and easier for the user, make things more adaptive for their organization and improve security all at the same time\u2026that doesn\u2019t happen very often,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s a huge win.\u201d Transformation by Force Burgard noted a media report that suggested COVID-19 drove more digital transformation than any CIO or CTO has in the last 10 years. Such a pithy observation can provoke a wry grin, but while the business community may have lost the \u201cproactive versus reactive\u201d battle, the war can be won by security providers. Without work-from-home safeguarding, security-type events and their resulting trauma\u2014ransomware, phishing, wire fraud\u2014significantly increased during the pandemic, Burgard notes. \u201cPeople are willing to do things they weren\u2019t willing to do before, because they understand their level of risk tolerance right now is really pretty low, because of the financial impact COVID has had as well,\u201d Burgard said. \u201cI think maybe there\u2019s this misconception that all the organizations out there completely ratcheted up. (But) if there\u2019s an area where spending is occurring, it\u2019s security.\u201d Keith Adams, vice president of IT for Les Olson Company of Salt Lake City, points out that there was a varying degree of work-from-home preparedness among the business community. A number of organizations were fully engaged and embraced the need for new\/enhanced systems to address remote work requirements, and acknowledged the need for solutions to mitigate the dangers of an uncontrolled environment. Others, unprepared for the logistical and structural changes, were loath to dedicate resources to securely lock down the remote landscape. Conversation Starter \u201cI do believe that the pandemic and its associated forced business changes indicate a shift in the work paradigm and will result in the new workplace model being conceptualized with a split role from now on,\u201d Adams said. \u201cIn the future I believe that this WILL create an environment where discussions around security and protocols to enforce protections and system resiliency will be much easier to have and will result in much more activity around security offerings.\u201d Jeff Leder, director of managed IT security services for Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, notes the number of new risk audits performed by the dealer were on the rise heading into 2020. Once the pandemic hit, the requests dialed down as the business community held its collective breath. Today, risk audits have caught fire and exceeded the pre-COVID levels. \u201cAll of those risk audit opportunities presents a chance for us to work with client organizations to implement better protection and security, and further mitigate risks,\u201d Leder said. \u201cIt seems that after that initial spike of concern, now more than ever organizations are recognizing that, especially with the changes that occurred, security is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":41697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[764,3785,3528,545],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41698,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41696\/revisions\/41698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}