Analysis of a Current Events Article
Numerous critical issues surround the current world, putting countries sovereignty, economic systems, and millions of people’s lives in danger. COVID-19 pandemic, that started at the beginning of 2020, affected each home’s way of living, transforming the health habits, and altering personal relationships. However, the business industry had to face even more radical challenges, where only the most promptpromptest to change-adaptation could survive such an economic burden. The IT sphere demands increased in a matter of days, becoming an easy target for cyber-attacks. Therefore, an article, discussing all aspects of how the pandemic changed cybersecurity, was chosen for the assignment to better comprehend the vitality of the issue.
Summary of the Article
The article “How Covid-19 is dramatically changing cybersecurity” by TATA Consultancy Services delivers a detailed overview of the risks large companies face due to the pandemic outbreak by providing argumentative factors of its threats. Moreover, the report discusses solutions for more secure technology and data protection, which are vital for businesses’ security.
The opening header of the piece talks about how only in a month, millions of companies had to transfer their business into the digital world, conducting the absolute amount of the operations and negotiations online. Firm executives started relying on digital channels not only to communicate with clients but also with their employees and customers (Deo et al., 2020). They shared new rules, demystifying rumors, and requests to adhere to the new health habits.
The authors emphasize that many socially responsible corporations used digital infrastructure to accommodate the healthcare system with vital supplies. Another argument the section presents is how digital communication channels became a way of entertainment for families even more at the time of the pandemic. The internet was additionally used as a motivational tool for self-development and educational platform for the students all over the world.
The next section of the report is called “An Explosion of Cyber Risks in the Covid-19 Pandemic”. It starts by discussing how the rapid shift of the business operations significantly increased the risks of cyber-attacks, which had to be immediately recognized. Authors emphasize the importance of risk management and the development of more reliable strategies to secure digital platforms from any cyber danger.
The IT industry had to face even more complicated challenges. Many firms extended the remote work capacity to the static employees previously working in the offices (Deo et al., 2020). The development of new types of collaboration software became crucial as a way of keeping a synchronized collaborative internal work. However, it significantly increased the risk of cyber-attacks due to the more sensitive data caused by remote workplaces.
The article authors claim that most of the companies were not prepared for such drastic changes in the ways of operation conduct and remote work. However, the pandemic’s nature allowed them to realize the significance of remote-access software and the value of its high protection. Enforcement of never-before-done security policies for isolated business conduct became a great challenge for numerous companies. Moreover, the authors say that most of the business continuation plans (BCP) and incident response plans (IRP) are not near suitable for dealing with the pandemic. Taking advantage of such loopholes cyber hackers are decoding the systems with COVID-19 related viruses and using widely utilized remote working platforms like Zoom.
In the following section, “A Robust Cybersecurity Response,” the article goes on about the vital need to monitor and eliminate any risks of hacker attacks on the company by providing some of the feasible methods. Among them are staff training on identifying potential threats online. A long-term perspective of remote work must be considered when developing new strategies. Firms must increase the security of the cloud-based software, creating data leakage prevention and threat-protection control, authors say (Deo et al., 2020). The last proposed solution is giving employees private access to the enterprise’s system, using privileged accessed management (PAM) services, and multi-factor authentication.
The article authors include a section “After Covid-19”, which identifies the changes that will be brought with the end of the pandemic to the IT security industry. Among the main innovations is the need for some companies to shift to new operating models, increasing the number of remote workers. Besides, corporations will need to completely reset the security systems to check for any deceptions and eliminate any hacking threats. Next, the novel cyber risks will be understood, and corporate IT security will have to be restructured. The last changes would be made to the policies connected with remote access, personal devices, and advanced security technology development.
The leaders of security are emphasized in the article, where during the pandemic, they will learn new insights on digital protection and a vital need to be alert for similar critical circumstances. The report provides several distinct essential approaches and technologies for safety managers, emerging from the quarantine. Authors highlight the need to conduct constant drills with pandemic-like scenarios, to be equipped for similar situations (Deo et al., 2020). The article also briefly mentions the artificial intelligence, which will attract attention during such a crisis in many industries.
The last section of the TATA Consultancy Services article “A New Era for Cybersecurity” discusses how changes in the IT department will affect every other branch of enterprise. The most noticeable changes are that companies will be more flexible in remote working, along with the government’s adaptation of new policies and regulations. The post-crisis adjusting process will force security leaders to embrace new efficient initiatives to their systems and BCPs.
Importance of the Article
“How Covid-19 is dramatically changing cybersecurity” by TATA Consultancy Services shed new light on the perspective of IT cybersecurity in the difficult time of the pandemic for businesses worldwide. The authors developed feasible strategies that protect companies from hackers and underlined the firm’s lack of crisis management, which hackers do not hesitate to take advantage of. The article also predicts the changes that will be caused by the lockdown, which is a reliable resource and a tool for the organizations to be prepared for future modifications in the business
Moreover, the article provides valuable advice, and new requirements for IT security leaders emerging from the pandemic, which is essential to read for every worker connected to this field. In addition, the report emphasizes the mistakes companies commonly make and programs not suitable for such crisis, which would significantly affect the company if identified. Overall, the article is of high importance for security managers and corporations, which had to adapt new remote working strategies amid pandemic. It outlines the most common blunders and provides practical resolutions with realistic predictions of the industry’s future.
Questions to the authors
- In case of a cyber-attack, how do the security leaders need to react, and what are the methods of retrieving back the information and further avoidance of such attacks?
- How can security leaders track the suspicious activity or unwelcomed users on the service, when all the employees are working remotely?
- What are the new bullet points that must be included in the business continuation plans and incident response plans minding the pandemic crisis?
Reference
Deo, P., Raj, G., & Perumal, R. (2020). How covid-19 is dramatically changing cybersecurity. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.