As a#CiscoSecurePartner I'm sure we can all agree that without a doubt 2020 will go down in history, not only for all the obvious reasons, but also because organizations around the world were forced to consider and adopt rapid digital transformation.  How did our customers minimize the impact of this dramatic shift to remote work on their operations? With the right investments they maintained an agile security infrastructure, supported in role-based training, and kept top executives informed. Not easy to do but it's never too late to adopt these best practices as we transition to 2021.

Avoiding security potholes in 2021

While we are not quite out of the pandemic yet, there is hope that we will soon go back to normal. Whatever normal may look like... However, in cybersecurity the normal means that we will be challenged by security threats as the workforce continues to spend time working remotely or in hybrid environments. The pandemic resurfaced hackers' old tricks such as email spoofing, ransomware and supply-chain attacks. Old wine in a new bottle, and this may continue to happen with whatever topic of the day.  With these evolving threats it imperative that customers have the right tools in place to manage top risks and maintain operational efficiency.

Security outcomes for the road ahead...

Sensible advice to keep our homes cyber-safe must continue to be in place. A proactive, best-of-breed tech refresh strategy allows organizations to keep up with business growth. Cloud Security solutions, supported by the adoption of a SASE architecture, will be driving demand to network security initiatives. 81% of breaches leverage stolen or weak passwords so the adoption of multi-factor authentication is also encouraging. Learn more about our#MFAChallenge. A well-integrated tech stack improves recruitment and retention of security talent. Focus on good equipment, clear direction, accurate alerts, and timely fixes of security issues. Want to avoid future incidents and losses? Conduct after-action reviews of major incident response operations. More than ever cybersecurity needs to be taken into consideration in business outcomes and be included in major strategic decisions for any organization. Never compromise on Security. To explore how organizations in different countries and regions are successfully achieving each security outcome, we launched our 2021 Security Outcomes Study -a comprehensive report that can be accessed at cisco.com/go/SecurityOutcomes.

How will cybersecurity professionals keep up to speed?

I remember well the last in-person conference I attended in 2020, which was RSA last February.  While I am eager to start traveling again and meeting my industry peers and partners at these events, without a doubt we have seen incredible ways to host virtual conferences with great success which include creative break outs, networking opportunities and even live entertainment.

I am well aware these do not replace the human contact and networking opportunities that we long for, but they have proven to be incredibly efficient with an unprecedented global reach. Cisco Live 2021 is fast approaching, be sure to check out our Cisco Secure sessions.

Let's focus on efficient ways to spread the cybersecurity message and use the learnings of 2020 to keep organizations productive, effective and, most importantly, secure.'

Additional Resources

• Access the full Cisco 2021 Security Outcomes Study
• Read the Security Outcomes blog series with more relevant information as we continue to analyze the data
• Regions and verticals specific 
• Follow the conversation on social with#CiscoSecurePartner