CISOs say a distributed workforce has critically increased security concerns

73% of security and IT executives are concerned about new vulnerabilities and risks introduced by the distributed workforce, Skybox Security reveals.

The report also uncovered an alarming disconnect between confidence in security posture and increased cyberattacks during the global pandemic.

Digital transformation creating the perfect storm

To protect employees from COVID-19, enterprises rapidly shifted to make work from home possible and maintain business productivity. Forced to accelerate digital transformation initiatives, this created the perfect storm.

2020 will be a record-breaking year for new vulnerabilities with a 34% increase year-over-year – a leading indicator for the growth of future attacks.

As a result, security teams now have more to protect than ever before. Surveying 295 global executives, the report found that organizations are overconfident in their security posture, and new strategies are needed to secure a long-term distributed workforce.

Key observations

• Deprioritized security tasks increase risk: Over 30% of security executives said software updates and BYOD policies were deprioritized. Further, 42% noted reporting was deprioritized since the onset of the pandemic.
• Enterprises can’t keep up with the pace: 32% had difficulties validating if network and security configurations undermined security posture. 55% admitted that it was at least moderately difficult for them to validate network and security configurations did not increase risk.
• Security teams are overconfident in security posture: Only 11% confirmed they could confidently maintain a holistic view of their organizations’ attack surfaces. Shockingly, 93% of security executives were still confident that changes were correctly validated.
• The distributed workforce is here to stay: 70% of respondents projected that at least one-third of their employees will remain remote 18 months from now.

“Traditional detect-and-respond approaches are no longer enough. A radical new approach is needed – one that is rooted in the development of preventative and prescriptive vulnerability and threat management practices,” said Gidi Cohen, CEO, Skybox Security.

“To advance change, it is integral that everything, including data and talent, is working towards enriching the security program as a whole.”