Securing the future of remote work: Novel cyber threat mitigation strategies

The business environment has been greatly changed by the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating the shift to remote work and increasing organizations' susceptibility to cyber threats. Conventional security approaches that concentrate on perimeter defense have been ineffective in addressing the challenges of remote work environments. This thesis examines new risk mitigation strategies for addressing cyber threats, focusing on implementation and effectiveness of zero-trust security frameworks. This study uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including whitepapers analysis and expert questionnaires, to identify significant cybersecurity threats linked to remote work. It assesses the effectiveness of zero-trust principles and explores cybersecurity professionals' perception and understanding. The results show that adopting a zero-trust framework greatly improves an organization's security posture by implementing stringent access controls and continuous monitoring, reducing risks like breaches, phishing attacks, and other cyber threats. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the difficulties of zero-trust architectures implementation, such as the required cultural shifts within organizations and technical requirements.