Work-life has drastically changed since the pandemic began, and while the hybrid workforce has become the ‘new normal’, there is increasing conversation globally on how organisations can potentially adopt a four-day work week.
In fact, some countries such as Australia and the UK have already implemented trials of this new working style. Although Australia had only started running the trials recently, a spokesperson has already mentioned that the study looks “very encouraging”, and additionally, the UK trials saw no loss in productivity.
However, it was noted by the chief executive at 4 Day Week Global, a non-profit organisation in New Zealand, that there were some “understandable hurdles” for businesses whose cultures “date back well into the last century” during their trial.
Also Read: How to tackle cybersecurity threats during the holidays
Closer to home, a survey conducted by Indeed found that 88 per cent of Singaporean employees advocated for a four-day workweek with the same pay.
In spite of the findings, Singapore would need a nationwide shift in mindset from its dominant work culture; the country has been ranked the most overworked country in APAC by The Instant Group.
As interest in flexible working grows, there is still a large swathe of people within organisations who hold roles that cannot be “switched off”. In particular, we are talking about cybersecurity professionals responsible for managing the explosion of endpoints as remote workforces expand and the frequency of cyberattacks increases.
Staying safe has no holiday
Between July and September alone, BlackBerry’s Threat researchers reported that they had prevented 1,129 cyber-attacks within its customer base in Singapore. These days, there are rarely any days off and uninterrupted holidays for cybersecurity professionals.
In fact, the REvil ransomware gang took advantage of the US’s largest holiday, the fourth of July, as a distraction while they commenced their attacks.
Additionally, the pandemic has put underlying pressure on cyber skills and resources. When organisations expanded their roster of connected services and devices to adapt to the challenges posed by remote working, more security vulnerabilities arose for attackers to gain entry and cripple businesses.
That said, it is not impossible for cybersecurity professionals to adopt a four-day workweek. Modern cybersecurity tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) make it possible to keep up with modern threats, such as malware and ransomware.
For example, a leading express delivery service provider in Malaysia and other markets in Southeast Asia wanted to put intelligent cybersecurity at the forefront of its digital transformation. Hence, they adopted BlackBerry’s automated AI/ML cybersecurity software to prevent malware infections and potential data breaches.
Benefits of AI and ML
The use of AI and ML solutions offers several benefits to organisations. Firstly, AI-driven security reduces human error and can ensure security policies are promptly updated to prevent hackers from worming their way into workers’ devices and networks to steal their identities and passwords.
Also Read: Best cybersecurity practices for startups to stay ahead of the curve
These ‘smart’ tools are also proactive, helping workers locate and solve problems that may appear as network systems are updated, modified, or replaced.
Secondly, AL and ML help to reduce threat alert fatigue and stress on cybersecurity professionals. Eliminating manual processing of security alerts is not only practical, given the volume and velocity of daily threats, but gives cybersecurity teams the bandwidth to determine what more urgently needs their attention.
Smarter security, powered by AI, allows IT teams to manage these threats in a practical and manageable way with automated labelling, even as the machine learning algorithm solves some threats on its own.
Lastly, AI and ML-based cybersecurity solutions can significantly reduce threat response time, which is one of the most pivotal metrics for measuring a cybersecurity team’s efficiency. While human responses may lag, AI/ML-assisted security never does, as these solutions can pull data from an attack to be immediately regrouped and prepared for analysis.
Taking it one step further, automated security also provides reports with recommendations and insights to prevent future attacks.
Final thoughts
Although a hybrid workplace has existed in some form for several years, it is now clearly here to stay. Whether cybersecurity professionals adopt a four-day workweek, they would have to continue evolving their solutions to fit this new configuration of work.
Ultimately, organisations need to consider implementing AI/ML in their cybersecurity models to aid their employees in the fight against the barrage of cyber threats they must deal with on a daily basis. Not only will this reduce burnout among cybersecurity professionals, but it also keeps the organisation safe from cyber threats 24×7.
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