With the US having passed the two-year anniversary of the initial COVID lockdowns, it has become clear that the impact of the pandemic on traditional work arrangements is permanent. According to Gallup, about 60 million US workers—approximately half of the workforce—reports that their current job can be done remotely at least part of the time. As of February 2022, over half of those workers, who were overwhelmingly sent home to work at the start of the pandemic, were still working at home at least part of the time, with 42% working some form of hybrid schedule and 39% still fully remote.
Employers eager to bring workers back to the office amid concerns about accountability, productivity, and lost opportunities for serendipitous collaboration are now having to rethink what that looks like. In the same survey, Gallup noted that 9 in 10 remote-capable workers preferred some degree of remote-work flexibility, and 6 in 10 specifically preferred hybrid work. While hybrid work does seem like the best solution for addressing both the desires of employees and the expectations of employers, it creates complex security risks around both physical access and logical access.
In-Person Challenges with Hybrid Work
What hybrid work will look like is still an evolving story. Some companies may prefer to bring whole teams in on the same day, while others will bend to the wishes of employees who want more autonomy in when and how often they come into the office. From a security perspective, that means that the person physically present on-site will vary from day to day, making a strong, updated physical access control system a necessity.
Having only part of the workforce present in person doesn’t absolve an employer of the responsibility of knowing who is present in company facilities at all times and verifying that they are authorized to be there. If the business is relying on outdated credentialing technology such as 125Khz low-frequency ID cards, however, it could make it easier for an unauthorized individual to gain access. It’s essential to close the gap with updated access control systems such as smart card technology with secure encrypted credentials. Newer systems can also be used for secure computer logon, which can simplify the job of providing uniform credentials for remote and in-person workers throughout an organization. (For more on the convergence of physical and logical access control, see HID tech updates HERE.)
Remote Challenges with Hybrid Work
Remote work relies on employees being able to access company systems, and often confidential data, from wherever they happen to be working. That convenience and flexibility for the employee can come with a high price for the organization when paired with security protocols not designed to mitigate the vulnerabilities created by cloud access or to secure logins outside of a company firewall. Multi-factor authentication is a security best practice that can be easily implemented to prevent data breaches and control access to computers, websites, and apps with a single credential.
To help corporations find the right balance of security and usability, ADVANTIDGE offers multiple logical access solutions, including ActivID Multi-Factor Authentication and HID DigitalPersona that can help protect against phishing and other types of attacks that rely on stealing or hacking passwords, as well as assisting your organization in meeting key industry compliance standards. MFA can also be customized to cover the risks most pertinent to your organization, whether it’s verifying the identity of off-site workers or securing login to sensitive information based on role.
Evolving Workplaces, Evolving Security Solutions
ADVANTIDGE Inc., located in Los Angeles, can assess the state of your current physical access control and its suitability for the demands of new hybrid work arrangements. Whether you need repair, upgrades, or replacements, we can help, with manageable transitions planned for a minimum of work disruption. We are partners with HID Global, a leader in physical and logical access control technology. You can consider us as an extension of their team to ensure service and support should your business be in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
If your organization is still adapting to hybrid work and unsure of its implications for maintaining security, ADVANTIDGE is your expert resource. We can evaluate your existing measures to determine how you can provide robust security measures for employees whether they’re on-site or remote to prevent problems before they occur. To find out more about how ADVANTIDGE can provide enterprise solutions designed for hybrid workplaces, contact us here.
