Staffing crunch forcing commercial insurance industry to embrace technology
The COVID-19 pandemic shone the spotlight on growing labor shortages throughout the U.S. economy. While most of the attention to find entry and mid-level workers has focused on retailers, restaurants, and other service industries, the reality is that the staff shortage is affecting Wall Street banks, construction, manufacturing, trucking, and more. The pandemic has exacerbated long-standing staffing issues for commercial insurance brokers and carriers and is driving more companies to look to technology to bridge the gaps.
Many common dynamics are driving the overall labor shortage. As the pandemic rose and fell, more Americans reassessed which types of jobs they wanted and at what pay. The rising acceptance of remote work, elimination of the daily commute, lack of access to childcare, desire and opportunity to start a business, and simply workers choosing to leave the workforce altogether are driving the staffing gap. Experts believe the staffing challenge is not a temporary issue but, in fact, the new normal.
Curbing pandemic burnout: 3 steps you can take to support overwhelmed security teams
We’re a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, and burnout is hitting employees hard. Recently, Okta CEO Todd McKinnon used an all-hands meeting with employees to underline the importance of taking vacation. In April, LinkedIn announced it was giving the entire company a full week off to unplug, recharge and help curb burnout.
For security teams, burnout isn’t a new phenomenon. Given the need to always be on and ready, cybersecurity professionals already face high levels of stress, and the pandemic has added to increasing and alarming burnout rates. On the heels of the Exchange, Kaseya, and SolarWinds attacks, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity teams are overworked and exceptionally stressed -- we’re under a lot of pressure.
Preparing your network and employees for a safe return to the office
With the vaccine rollout continuing and positivity on the horizon due to significant reduction in COVID-19 cases, companies are now planning how to return workers to the office safely. To start, employees will most likely return to a hybrid workplace, one where they rotate in and out of the office, part of the time in the office and work from home the rest of the time.
Securing your network and employees will be critical during transitions. While small businesses may perceive this to be a matter of going back to "business as usual" and resuming normal IT operations, there are a number of complexities brought on by the mass exodus out of office that need to be considered. Just as in the beginning of the pandemic, cyber criminals will almost certainly increase their phishing attempts and other malicious attacks, taking advantage of overlooked network vulnerabilities and resource-thin IT teams. To protect their networks, employees and critical data, companies will need to create plans and introduce new safety protocols to ensure security as employees transition between working from home and in the office.
Why data analytics will be vital in the hybrid working arena
A quick look at the Forbes Global 2000 will tell you that not many businesses stand the test of time. To endure throughout the ages, organizations must regularly adapt and reinvent themselves to keep up with new developments. Never has this received wisdom been more apt than throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where many businesses have had to adjust their offerings and operations to stay relevant in the remote climate.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, this sentiment will continue to be vital. Indeed, as vaccination rates climb, and nations worldwide begin to ease their lockdowns and restrictions, many governments will be scrapping their 'work from home' guidelines. That said, this doesn’t mean companies plan to return to their old ways. As such, decision-makers will require a plan of action to make the decisions necessary to keep up with new trends.
Security leaders want to give people more freedom -- but restrict it
A new survey of 200 enterprise IT and security leaders appears to uncover a fundamental paradox. 96 percent of respondents called for an expansion of IT freedom, while 91 percent say that enterprises also need to put more IT restrictions in place.
The study from OS isolation company Hysolate finds that in the post-COVID world businesses face demands to press for changes to IT security policies to simultaneously increase employee productivity while also enhancing the organization’s ability to ward off ransomware and other attacks.
Enterprises see threat modeling as a top priority post-COVID
Threat modeling is a top priority in 2021 according to 79 percent of respondents to a new survey, yet many organizations are still falling short in taking action or updating their approach.
The research from Balanced Development Automation (BDA) platform Security Compass shows that traditional threat modeling practices are historically slow, and hinder an organization’s goals of getting applications to market quickly.
Can businesses return to 'normal', post-pandemic?
Few businesses have been able to avoid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic -- the necessity of strict social distancing and national lockdowns including closure of non-essential retail created a major financial strain on organizations across the country.
Recent figures paint a promising picture of businesses’ recoveries. Indeed, the ONS recorded an increase of 9.4 percent in investments made by businesses in Q3 2020. However, there is still a tremendous distance ahead on the path to recovery; the latest figures show Q1 2021 investment levels still 18.4 percent lower than Q4 2019, the last wholly pre-pandemic quarter.
How eCommerce has adapted to the pandemic [Q&A]
One of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a boost to online shopping. This has increased pressure on companies offering eCommerce to adapt quickly to the new business model.
But how well have businesses -- particularly smaller ones -- coped with this and what should they be focusing on as we move forward?
Unsuccessful tech projects get axed during the pandemic
Research from London-based digital agency Studio Graphene shows that digital transformation during the pandemic hasn't been all success stories.
The survey of 750 decision-makers within UK businesses finds the majority (56 percent) have successfully adopted one or more new technologies since the beginning of the pandemic, with 54 percent saying that using new tech has been key in enabling them to overcome challenges posed by COVID-19.
Linux Foundation Public Health prepares global COVID-19 passport as Linus Torvalds encourages vaccine uptake
As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, governments around the globe are taking different approaches to tackling the problem. While COVID-19 remains a somewhat divisive topic, there's one thing that most people can agree on: vaccinations are going to play a major role in getting things under control.
This is why the father of Linux, Linus Torvalds, has spoken out telling people to "get vaccinated" and "stop believing the anti-vax lies". For anyone who believes "the crazy conspiracy theories" he has a simple message: "SHUT THE HELL UP". Meanwhile, Linux Foundation Public Health has launched the Global COVID Certificate Network (GCCN), described as "an initiative to enable interoperable and trustworthy verification of COVID certificates between jurisdictions for safe border reopening".
Pandemic and SolarWinds highlight flaws in cybersecurity
A survey of 300 security leaders in the US by Scale Venture Partners shows 94 percent say that C-level executives have a better understanding of cybersecurity risks than a year ago.
This is probably due to the twin impacts of the pandemic and the SolarWinds attack. Half say they will increase security budgets to address the impact of SolarWinds, while 40 percent have increased their cyber headcount during the pandemic.
COVID-19 leads to a year of cybersecurity challenges
Over the past 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has created the perfect environment for cybercrime to flourish, according to Verizon's 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report.
The report analyzed 29,207 quality incidents, of which 5,258 were confirmed breaches. With large numbers of people working remotely, phishing attacks increased by 11 percent, while attacks using ransomware rose by six percent.
This Cat6a Ethernet cable is antibacterial
COVID-19 has been a global tragedy, leading to many deaths and causing countless businesses to shutter. On a positive note, however, the virus has opened our eyes to many unsanitary behaviors. For instance, people are more cognizant of the importance of hand-washing.
The coronavirus has also lead to new health-conscious products on the market, and today, L-com releases something quite interesting. While not necessarily a way to fight the COVID-19 virus, the company's newest product can combat sickness overall. You see, it is a Cat6a Ethernet cable that has both antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.
Financial institutions see spike in threats linked to COVID-19
Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of banks and insurers have experienced a rise in cybercrime since the pandemic began according to a new report.
The findings released today by by BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, the cyber and intelligence arm of BAE Systems, as part of The COVID Crime Index 2021 analyze the changing nature and impact of fraud, risk and cyber threats on UK and US financial institutions and consumers over the last 12 months
How government agencies are adapting to remote working [Q&A]
The last year has seen all businesses facing a major shift as employees have been forced to work from home.
Government agencies have been no exception to this, but they have specific issues relating to handling sensitive data. Last month the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a plan to expand remote work options and other agencies are expected to follow suit.
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