Do Coworking spaces have a role to play in a world with increasing cyber security threats?
Companies around the world experience an increasing threat from hackers and IT criminals. Recently seen when 7-Eleven had to close all its stores in Denmark. There has been an acceleration in cyber security threats posed against both small and large companies.According to HISCOX Cyber Readiness Report 2022 did 48% of companies reported a cyber attack in the past 12 months, up from 43% last year.
Coworking X Cyber Security
So, what do coworking have to do with Cyber Security you may ask?
Coworking is despite Covid-19 still growing. Why? Because it still makes sense for startups, freelancers and solo entrepreneurs to be part of a community. A community of like minded people who can assist, share good advice and experience. And of course share office space, facilities and services so they can get competitive prices and less office administration and facility work (let’s be real this is not why you founded your startup).
Many Coworking Spaces give you access to all that, but they also need to stay ahead of the game and look beyond cool decor, barista coffee and parties. Coworking Mag predicts specialized services will be something coworking spaces will offer more of and with the increasing attention on Cyber Security threats we believe bean bags and free wifi is enough.
At The Camp we believe Coworking Spaces of the future have a role to play with the increasing cyber security threats. And therefore have to think of how to secure and support their members against cyber attacks.
But why should a founder care? The answer is simple. Because if you care about your business you will. A cyberattack is a costly affair for any business, but can be a matter of life or death for a startup.
We know that most startups have limited budgets and access to skilled personnel to help with their cyber security efforts. And as Retest Security, a cyber security startup in our community, highlights: “There is a major shortage of IT security people. Our customers often lack one or two security resources within their organization.
You can learn more about Retest Security here: https://thecamp.io/happy-campers-retest-security/
So what did we do?
We did the obvious for people like us. We turned to our community and we were fortunate to have Retest Security in ours.
Retest Security normally helps mid- and large sized companies better understand their IT vulnerabilities by scouring specific applications, systems, and infrastructure for gaps and identifies areas that may create a risk.
For the first time they applied their tools and analysis capabilities on a Coworking space and that was The Camp.
During a couple of weeks they conducted an analysis of the physical and digital setup with focus on uncovering vulnerabilities which could be a potential threat for us as Coworking space operators and our members at The Camp.
Without going into details on what exactly was tested (for obvious reasons) we did not have any major vulnerabilities. But we got a list with action points that will improve our security even further.
So after working with Retest Security what are our advice to other Coworking spaces? We made a top 5 to others. If you think it look super simple, well then just get started:
- Acknowledge that Cyber Security threats are something that you also have to deal with.
- Team up with experts who can help you.
- What can create the biggest impact with the smallest effort?
- Cyber Security is also about your physical space and who have access to it.
- Passwords are key. It sound simple to remember to change them.
