Podcast: COVID-19 Happened – Where Did Your Data Go?

Key Points

• In the race to make remote work possible and efficient, IT teams largely adopted a “make do and make it happen” mentality.
• This speed, while impressive, opened up a new world of risk.
• Robust data tracking and quantification can help ease that burden.

This podcast was recorded on April 29, 2020.

As the world moves forward with what’s likely to be a new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, host Tyler Kern is joined by Weaver’s Trip Hillman and Robert Neill to find out how this unprecedented period impacts data collection, security and analysis.

In the wake of the quarantines and shelter-at-home mandates brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s businesses are attempting to engineer a return to what’s likely to be a new global normal for operations.

However, in the midst of this uncertain period as employees worked from different locations around the world, what’s happened to data?

On this episode of Beyond the Numbers, a Weaver podcast, host Tyler Kern was joined by Weaver’s Trip Hillman, Director of Cybersecurity Services, and Robert Neill, Director of CIO Advisory Services, to tackle that looming question.

To make remote capabilities possible during the rapid response to initial work-from-home requests and then mandates, both Hillman and Neill agreed that it was largely a do-whatever-it-takes mentality to quickly build upon what existed.

That meant repurposing existing equipment, leveraging cloud-based services, and generally accelerating the march toward remote work that was largely already underway. However, that speed came along with risks, both recognized and hidden, including elevated exposure to bad actors due to a shift in how work is being done, the soft targets of new or modifednetwork and hardware devices, and more.

However, Management’s attention to and awareness of these risks coupled with robust data tracking and quantification can help companies turn the tide. “When we were inside the walls, we could put our arms around key systems. We could build our castle walls around it,” Hillman said. “When devices and systems starts to leave that protective wall, it starts to get a lot murkier. One of the questions I have for organizations is, ‘Are you aware of the holes you just punched in your defense mechanisms and in your firewalls? Where did we open the floodgates?”

By taking a thorough look at users’ remote devices and by focusing on total visibility into channels, mechanisms, systems and overall operation, organizations can take back control of that leaking castle wall.

In this podcast both Neill and Hillman mention resources to help businesses through challenging times. Contact us for up-to-date content on topics including strategic governance, organizational assessments, tax relief for businesses and individuals, IT and financial considerations, compliance and other legislative updates, and more.

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© 2020