Remote work will catalyze a shift from the corporate perimeter concept to micro-office security certification. Outsourcing of IT and cybersecurity functions will be crucial to solve expertise shortages and save budgets. To coordinate managed service providers along with using multiple cloud services, cloud security and management skills will become a ‘must have’. These and other cybersecurity challenges and trends will be among those that businesses will have to manage this year, according to a new Kaspersky report.

A shift to remote work, financial constraints due to economic recession and the growth of cyber threats due to the global pandemic will affect the day to day role of cybersecurity professionals in 2021. Understanding the challenges but also perceiving opportunities in IT and IT security management is key for companies to maintain their protection. The recent Kaspersky report, “Plugging the gaps: 2021 corporate IT security predictions” suggests advice for each role related to cybersecurity, including CEOs or business owners, CISOs, SOC team leads and IT managers. Here are some of the main trends to monitor:

• Protecting the perimeter is no longer enough – home office assessment and certification will be needed. There should be tools to scan the level of security in a workplace – from the presence of software vulnerabilities to connecting to an unreliable or unprotected Wi-Fi hotspot. It will also require wider adoption of VPN, privileged access management, multifactor authentication systems, the implementation of stricter monitoring, and the updating of existing contingency and emergency plans.
• Transition to a service model will enable required levels of IT and IT security with lower investments. According to Kaspersky’s survey, seven-in-10 72% businesses in the META region said they already plan to use a managed service provider (MSP) or managed security service provider (MSSP) in the next 12 months^[1]. This is for good reason as the service model helps to minimize capital investments and transition business costs from CapEx to OpEx.
• Training for internal IT security specialists should incorporate management skills. Cybersecurity professions split into very narrow specializations, meaning that hiring staff for each specific role may be too expensive. This is where outsourcing can help plug the gap. However, businesses that outsource key cybersecurity components still need to focus on developing management skills for their in-house teams to handle those outsourced functions.
• There will be an increased reliance on cloud services, making dedicated management and protection measures necessary. The survey showed thatin 2020, employees in 91% of enterprises and 95% of SMBs in the META region used non-corporate software and cloud services such as social networks, messengers or other applications. This is unlikely to change when staff return to the office. To ensure that any corporate data is kept under control, better visibility over cloud access will be necessary. IT security managers will need to align themselves with this cloud paradigm and develop skills for cloud management and protection.

Along with the introduction of new cybersecurity practices, the quality of tools that enable these changes will be equally important. Quality of protection and seamless manageability are key when choosing cybersecurity solutions. “We have seen two important changes in what customers expect from corporate cybersecurity offerings. Firstly, the quality of protection is no longer up for discussion – now it’s a ‘must have’. Another major trend is that deep integration between various components of corporate security, ideally from a single vendor, now plays a bigger role. For instance, there was a long-held belief in the industry that various specialized solutions from various vendors can help create the best combination for protection. Now, organizations are looking for a more unified approach with maximum integration between different security technologies,” says Alexander Moiseev, Chief Business Officer at Kaspersky.

Check the full report ‘Plugging the gaps: 2021 corporate IT security predictions’ for more predictions.

[1] According to Kaspersky Global Corporate IT Security Risks Survey (ITSRS), conducted across 31 countries in June 2020. Throughout the report, a total of 5,266 IT business decision-makers were interviewed.

Transforming the university experience with assistive listening over Wi-fi

Worldwide, tens of thousands of students with a hearing impairment attend university – often with legislation that mandates that technical equipment is provided to ensure their full inclusion. With easy access to Wi-fi having become students’ most important tech resource for studying, the move towards Wi-fi based assistive listening systems such as MobileConnect from Sennheiser is the logical next step.

Wi-fi based assistive listening systems offer substantial advantages over traditional systems

In terms of installation, usability and student acceptance, traditional assistive listening systems present several shortcomings, be it labor-intensive installation of induction loops or the risks of sharing IR or FM devices during pandemics. Most importantly, however, these solutions make students feel excluded, exacerbating “feelings of loneliness, isolation and frustration” that the WHO cites as emotional impacts of hearing loss.^[1] With WHO projecting a significant uptick among hearing loss in children between now and 2050, this issue’s importance is only increasing.

Assistive listening over Wi-Fi, on the other hand, works simply and effectively: The lecturer speaks into a microphone, the audio signal travels to an AV station and is broadcast via the existing local Wi-fi network. Students can use their own smartphone with confidence to listen via an app, freeing them to sit anywhere they like.

Using their own smartphones with an app, students listen to the audio via headphones, hearing aids or cochlear implants 

Besides low cost of installation and maintenance, Wi-fi based systems are easily scalable and integrate readily with existing AV equipment. IT and AV managers can make system adjustments as needed using a software-based manager – but in many ways, assistive listening systems over Wi-fi are a set-and-forget solution.

Jakub Kolacz, Sennheiser’s Manager Product and Commercialization for MobileConnect, said: “Like so many others, we wish for a world where all people can be connected to each other and able to make the most of the opportunities that lie before them. This includes unrestricted access to information and teaching. With MobileConnect, we offer a fully inclusive, Wi-Fi-based assistive listening solution for the campus infrastructure of modern universities. With individually adjustable, lip-sync audio for as many as 100 students per room, it provides a productive, inclusive learning environment for higher education institutions.”