Back to Work After Lockdown: Cyber Risks of the Post-Pandemic Era

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Cybersecurity Concerns in the Post-Pandemic Era

In the wake of China lifting some of its lockdown restrictions in the Wuhan province, most of the world is looking forward to getting back to ‘normal’. According to the World Health Organization, this transition from government-enforced lockdown to a quasi-repose state, should not be taken lightly nor perceived as a callback to ‘normalcy’.

As many epidemiologists pointed out, we have yet to reach the ‘infection’ peak, meaning that a second viral wave may be lurking around the corner. In the interim, with several European countries dropping part of the lockdown-specific rules, company-owners are making the necessary preparations to accommodate all the employees who were sent to work from home.

Many challenges lie ahead, most being related to (re)constructing a (the) work environment and how to achieve total compliance with the governmental recommendations/regulations – which, literally translates to how to keep your employees safe in the ‘Post-Pandemic Era’. The apostrophes are not poetic license – the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and it’s important to keep that in mind when you begin drafting the plans on how to bring everyone back to the office.

There is another consideration – your company’s cybersecurity factor. Up till now, your sysadmins were focused on making telecommuting work – configuring the network, installing additional equipment, researching remote work-specific software.

However, not that the employees will be returning to the office, the focus must shift back to on-site network admin, which, among other things, means getting up-to-speed with your cybersecurity policies (or lack of).

In this article, I am going to go over Heimdal™ Security’s return-to-the-office, cybersecurity recommendations. And because this is a race against time, I’m going to show you how to cut some corners (not in a bad way).

The post-pandemic era office

It’s only natural to have some reservations about going back to the office. After all, we did spend the last couple of months being told to stay at home, wash our hands, and practice social distancing. The idea of heading back to the office, while the coronavirus is still active, may seem foreboding. Perhaps even confusing – how can we even think about venturing into the world when the authorities are still struggling to contain COVID hotbeds that appear overnight?

Some WHO-associated sources mentioned something about the ‘death of normalcy’. In other words, we can never go back to what we believed was ‘normal’ because the very idea of ‘commonplaceness’ is what led us to this conundrum.

We need to change and that’s a fact. ‘But how?’ is the question du jour. Do we simply go back to our regular, and very mundane, 9-to-5 lives, knowing that the virus is still around? There’s no doubt that all of them are legitimate questions, which I will be addressing throughout this article.

Is it safe to go back to work? Health authorities from around the globe have already begun loosening the lockdown restrictions, allowing some industries to resume production. For instance, the Spanish health authorities, partly encouraged by the decrease in new coronavirus cases/casualties, have cleared the ‘restart’ for the construction and manufacturing industries.

On Monday, by ministerial decree, workers employed in these two sectors will return to work. I would like to remind the readers that Spain has been under lockdown since the middle of March.

Moreover, Spain is ranked fourth in deaths caused by the new coronavirus, after the United States, UK, and Italy. It’s encouraging news indeed, considering how hard this country was hit. Spain is not the only country to loosen its lockdown restrictions to stabilize the economy.

On the 25[sup]th[/sup] of April, three US states (Georgia, Alaska, and Oklahoma), have taken the first steps in loosening some of the lockdown orders, despite the US’s death toll is around 70,000 and climbing. Even life in China, which is considered the first coronavirus hotbed, is slowly returning to normal, with more business relaunching every single day.

Returning to the office is possible and feasible. However, it will look entirely different compared to what your employees had in mind.

First of all, as an employer, you are bound by law to take every necessary to ensure the safety of your workforce and help the health authorities stem the spread of this contagion. So, right from the start, two aspects need to be tackled: legal and health-related. Of course, an equally important aspect is cybersecurity. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Legal Implications of Returning to Work

According to the White House officials, employers can recall the staff on premises if they meet all the requirements laid down and enforced by federal, state, and local officials. The document in question is broken down into several sections, each of them addressing a certain social category (healthcare providers, employers, employees, specific employees, and businesses). Below, you will find an excerpt from the White House’s tri-phase plan.
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