Collaboration in a trustworthy and reliable information management process is paramount to the future of work. New regulatory and privacy requirements continue to emerge as new content-sharing technology and hybrid work models pose new security and privacy challenges.
With a highly distributed workforce, the information they need must find them, not create new opportunities for confusion and security breaches or data leaks. Information governance, compliance and privacy must be maintained for information sharing across entire teams and processes. But, achieving this also delivers new levels of risk.
Address the risks that come with new ways of working
According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR), over 90% of data breaches attacked the desktop sharing and collaboration tools used by remote workers. The report concluded that external assets were now targeted more than on-premises assets. As businesses increasingly operate and collaborate remotely, their information and sensitive data become more exposed to security incidents like this, leading to potential financial and brand damage.
The greater attack area involved in flexible, modern work also dramatically increases the exposure and risk to IP. It’s estimated that IP theft costs US businesses up to $600 billion annually, with over one in five US CFOs saying their company has already fallen victim. In this environment, Deloitte recommends companies prioritize measures to address the loss of corporate data and intellectual property.
Secure information while maintaining compliance and visibility
So how can organizations deliver easy access to business information, while maintaining the necessary levels of information protection? To keep up with new ways of working and the continued evolution of modern work, organizations must find solutions that:
- Intelligently identify sensitive and risky content at scale
- Adapt to evolving compliance and security requirements
- Provide end-to-end consistency and secure access, now and into the future
Extend governance capabilities into information ecosystems
Consistency across systems and processes means that governance policies defined at the central content management hub can be applied to previously isolated content and data, where it’s created and stored – both internally and externally. As information is distributed and used across various connected platforms, classifications, policies, legal holds, and privacy protections should travel with it and be modified to meet the current state of the information.
By extending governance capabilities and risk management tools deeper into information ecosystems, businesses can reduce information sprawl and explore opportunities for smarter, more efficient governance, security and compliance strategies suited to the demands of modern work.
