Remote work is not going away. Depending on who you ask, experts believe 35% – 65% of the US workforce will continue to work remotely, permanently. Remote work was a trend that began well before the pandemic and will continue to be the preferred way to work for companies and employees alike. However, many companies were unprepared for the speed at which remote work became the preferred office structure. The pandemic forced businesses to adopt new tools and processes virtually overnight.

Don't bring your personal life into the office; don't bring your work stuff home — these were already difficult tasks prior to the 2020 pandemic. Now, with hybrid work settling in, they have become nearly impossible to achieve. Where we work is no longer tethered to a static location. From the Wi-Fi we connect to, to the devices we use for work, our personal and professional lives are now closely intertwined.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a seismic shift in remote working practices. Before the pandemic, 34% of US employees worked remotely at least one day a week. Now, as we emerge from the pandemic, 35% of Americans work from home full-time — with a further 23% able to work remotely part-time. This equates to approximately 92 million remote workers in the US alone. But this rise in remote working is causing significant corporate cybersecurity issues.

Perhaps someone doesn’t answer a Slack message as quickly as they should, or they have long hours blocked on their calendar. Maybe someone doesn’t seem motivated during team meetings or they are slow to complete work. While research has shown that overall, productivity has actually increased as a result of the work-from-home movement, managers know all too well what it’s like to be suspicious that someone is taking advantage of their new work arrangement.

Remote work has become popular among employees. 74% of workers say they would be less inclined to leave a company if they could work from home. No commuting, better work-life balance, greater flexibility, and increased motivation attract employees to telecommuting. Although companies offer remote work, data security concerns them. Employees might use unsecured wifi networks, leave their computers and laptops unattended, or carry confidential documents to public locations.

As we pass the halfway point of 2022, it’s worth taking a look at the current trends which have been present within the cyber security world and what to look out for in the future. Being aware of trends allows organisations to plan for the future and put processes or defences in place before they’re required.

Most knowledge-economy workplaces are embracing the remote future of work. The question for these leaders is how to manage a workforce that may physically congregate in the office only once or twice a week, if ever. According to Gallup, as many as two-thirds of white-collar U.S. employees worked exclusively from home during the pandemic, a massive shift that will shape workplace culture for years to come.

Earlier this year, an industry report stated that 79% of businesses remain concerned about the security risks of an increasingly remote workforce. Cyberattacks are on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because many organizations fail to put in place adequate cybersecurity measures and procedures. In addition, there is a worldwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals in every industry.

The pandemic changed the way people work, and many companies have been fast to adapt to this shift in work culture by encouraging and promoting remote and hybrid work. Zero Trust Network Access or ZTNA is gaining popularity as a secure alternative to corporate VPN-based access to the internal application and network services.

Remote work is the new reality for companies of all sizes and across every industry. As the majority of employees now perform their job functions outside the technology ecosystem of their local office, the cybersecurity landscape has evolved with the adoption of terms such as Zero Trust and Secure Services Edge (SSE).