Sources agree: The global shift to remote work due to COVID-19 increased organizations’ potential cyberattack surface. The last year has seen greater need for threat protection than ever. But has the channel complied to take important cybersecurity measures?

Throughout 2020, enterprises added more mobile devices and cloud applications (often haphazardly) to accommodate remote work. At the same time, they lost a lot of control over network monitoring as employees had to turn to home internet connections. On top of that, many workers brought collaboration tools – big potential sources of data leaks – into the environment so they could do their jobs. These factors have all led to one common problem: greater vulnerability to cybercrime.

The problem will go nowhere. In fact, it will only get worse. Sources further agree – and analysts worldwide concur – that remote work is here to stay. As such, bad actors in search of an easy payday will just keep up – if not speed up – their digital extortion efforts. Don’t forget, too, that organizations have to acknowledge the growing reality of insider risk, malicious or not.

This activity places channel partners and suppliers with the responsibility to constantly ensure a mature threat-protection posture for end users. It’s not a simple or easy task to fulfill. Too many security approaches come in siloes, use outdated technology, or address an incident after the fact. A far more effective tactic consists of thoughtful modern protections and best practices, all with a proactive stance. Sometimes there is a reason to silo certain security measures, for instance.

Of course, convincing end users to spend money – or more money – on cybersecurity can be hard. And when customers push back, that can create another problem: complacency within the channel. Don’t fall prey to the temptation to get lazy about cybersecurity, even when clients struggle to understand the importance. Stay abreast of the latest developments and education.

With that in mind, this third installment in our series on threat protection looks at the trends and cybersecurity best practices vendors fear channel partners are likely to ignore or under-address. Click through the slideshow above to read what they have to say.