📊 Accelerated Your Road Map? Go Fix Workforce and App Security
Tags: security, apps, workforce
Published: 2021-08-04 17:51:41

### 🌎 Remote or hybrid introduces new risks. We’ll show what you missed to maintain workforce and app security throughout your organization from anywhere.

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Fast response allowed many organizations to survive and thrive in 2020. Orgs went remote overnight; businesses launched consumer-facing apps, and [consumers shifted buying patterns online](https://auth0.com/blog/how-brick-and-mortar-approaches-improve-digital-experiences/).

Going fast gets products to market, it gives consumers choices, and it helps companies scale. But when you jump ahead seven to 10 years in your digital road map, you risk leaving a few security and data privacy concerns behind. I reached out to key members of my security team, as well as our data privacy team, to put together this three-part series based on our industry experience and observations.

Each post will focus on protecting and securing two critical areas: your workforce and your consumer-facing apps. The first post will focus on security details to check and mitigate now. The second will focus on immediate data privacy concerns with the help of Auth0 Vice President, Privacy Lucy McGrath. And the third post will help you put together a plan for the future that will make it easier the next time you want to turn on the speed — and to remain current in an ever-changing security landscape.

The thing is that security is a global team sport.  As more of us shift to working and living online, everything is more connected — and that can be a good thing. Securing your personal identity, your business identity, and helping increase security at your business can actually make an impact. Here’s what you can do to help make the internet safer for everyone.

## Why Remote Work Forced a Change in Security Thinking

Before the world started working remotely, a lot of companies used a castle-and-moat approach to security. They relied on a combination of physical security and internal networks to ensure that employees and outsiders only accessed necessary information. They might even have relied on SaaS companies to provide some of their protections, but the thinking was still pretty much “protect the castle.”

Suddenly workers were working anywhere in the world, maybe on their own devices. Without remote experience, your security team might not have had time to think through all of the security issues inherent with having remote endpoints. For example, to ensure that they properly protect these assets against current threats like ransomware and malware, it would be appropriate to install leading next-gen antivirus on these machines.

Role-based privileges and policies also abruptly needed to follow the user. I know I work for an identity company, but it was identity and policy [federation](https://auth0.com/blog/why-identity-federation-matters/) that anticipated this need and allowed for a rapid response.

[Now some companies are making work from home a permanent](https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-asking-employees-to-work-from-home-due-to-coronavirus-2020) part of their employee offering. Since Auth0 was built as a remote-friendly, globally dispersed company, we’ve had some time to think through the security concerns. Here’s what you need to consider to protect your customers, your business, and your employees:

1. **Secure the endpoints.** Services like CarbonBlack or CrowdStrike can help prevent malware or breaches occurring from endpoints.
2. **Update bring your own device policies.** Rethink how and where employees are accessing business and customer data. Do you need to restrict access in public spaces? Adjust policies?
3. **Update action policies**. What do your employees do if a work computer is stolen? What steps do they need to take if the information is exposed at home? A [1Password survey](https://www.darkreading.com/51--of-wfh-parents-say-children-have-accessed-work-accounts/d/d-id/1339754) found that 51% of work from home (WFH) parents surveyed said their children had accessed their work accounts, sometimes accidentally deleting necessary files.  How can you support your employees??
4. **Human risk is increased.** Have a look at the next section.

[Read more...](https://auth0.com/blog/accelerated-your-road-map-go-fix-workforce-and-app-security/?utm_source=content_synd&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=security)