When the bushfires that incinerated over 10 million hectares1 of Australia isn’t the biggest event of the year, you know we are in for a rocky ride. National and state borders are closed, entire populations are in lockdown, and even the Bunnings sausage sizzle, an Australian institution, is on the back burner. 2020 has already been a year like no other – and the aftershocks will continue for decades.
For every business, COVID-19 has prompted a delicate juggling act. Management focus has been on protecting staff, while finding ways to work differently to serve customers and minimise revenue loss. The number of staff working from home has gone from an occasional few to the majority. In a situation where business as usual is clearly unrealistic, it would be all too easy to drop the ball on security.
However, cybercriminals, are not taking a rest. In fact, the number of COVID-19-related scams is proliferating, with opportunistic hackers are taking advantage of security gaps left in the wake of sudden, hasty transitions. How do you avoid security breaches impacting your recovery in this new world order? Watch an exclusive JuiceIT Digital webinar from Data#3 cyber-security specialist Logan Daley as he guides you through the best ways to secure your organisation as it transitions into an uncertain future. Register to watch now or view through your JuiceIT Digital access.
Q: Students are now creating more data outside the classroom, and I expect this to continue even after they return to the traditional classroom environment. How can I protect data created on different devices, inside and outside the physical school environment?
A: It is a common misconception that geo-redundancy is enough to backup and protect Microsoft 365 data for students and staff. Legal obligations are also increasing, and new data protection legislation must be considered. Download our report into the key considerations of safeguarding student data.
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Since the onset of COVID-19, the Australian Cyber Security Centre has reported a host of malicious, COVID-19-themed websites and a rush of phishing attacks and online frauds. When helping customers to protect their data, Logan cites his successful approach as a combination of linear and lateral thinking. Seeing an issue from multiple perspectives helps him to understand how cybercriminals think, and anticipate the next move. JuiceIT Digital caught up with Logan for a quick chat.
What was the best career advice you ever received? It wasn’t so much advice as destructive criticism, but it taught me never to let the negativity of others influence your direction.
What is your best tip for staying connected with family, friends, and colleagues during isolation? The only tip I’d really emphasise is not overdoing it. Too much connectivity can be worse than none at all. Find the balance, and be willing to disconnect when you need to.
What do you do to unwind outside work? Outside of work we like to go Geocaching, play board games, and relax at home on the balcony. Although relatively new to cruising, it has quickly become our favourite type of vacation and we’re planning to travel more. Work has taken me around the globe; it’s time for leisure to do the same.
How do you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to security? Staying ahead of the curve can be daunting, but necessary. It’s a combination of situational awareness and proactivity. Staying in touch with industry leaders, vendors, and intelligence sources keeps us aware of trends, threats, and solutions. Proactivity dictates we prepare by implementing administrative and technical controls to prepare, protect, and mitigate from incidents, either deliberate or accidental. If we’re aware of what’s happening and prepared, we’re able to handle issues as they arise and learn from them.
Favourite One-Liner? “A meeting is where we discuss everything we’d be doing if we weren’t in the meeting.”
Security, of course, is far from the only hurdle. You’ve survived the first wave of challenges; now how do you now move from keeping your head above treading water to navigating confidently through the difficult business waters what lies ahead? Your workforce is facing the greatest change of their professional lives, as well as dealing with immense personal upheaval.
If your approach to change management used to be centred on about ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ before COVID-19, Business Aspect Head of Operations at Business Aspect, Peter Jarrett, says it’s time to find a whole new cheese.
“We must let go of the notion that everything will go back to normal – because it won’t. As leaders, we must engage our teams with vision, momentum, hope and energy towards building a new normal. Perhaps the worst thing would be to revert to previous ‘business as usual’ models that do not suit the current environment. Your customers have changed, and so must you.”
Technology and change management are crucial elements in forging a new path; but their success is dependent on leaders making well-supported informed decisions. Although each approach is individual, they come at it from different angles, each of our JuiceIT Digital speakers at JuiceIT Digital has acknowledged that data is an essential tool for leaders a to s they make the decisions that will determine their organisation’s future. Leadership has always been, in part, about using what is available to you, and pre-COVID-19, we were seeing a growing number of some organisations have been using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to achieve do remarkable things.
The advances in AI have not only made data smarter, it has also become more affordable and easier to harness. Our guest speaker Dr Catriona Wallace, Founder and CEO of Flamingo AI, provided some exciting insights into leadership in a crisis, and how organisations can prepare for an AI-driven transformation.