The cybersecurity landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. Once confined to the walls of on-premise office environments, today’s businesses are navigating a new world of cloud-based services, remote workforces, and unprecedented amounts of data. The evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the rise of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and the explosion of connected devices have all expanded the attack surface while simultaneously making it more challenging to protect sensitive data.
For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), these shifts represent a new frontier of challenges — and opportunities. How has the cybersecurity landscape changed, and what does your business need to know to stay secure in this increasingly complex environment?
The Shift from On-Prem to SaaS Introduced a New Era of Security Challenges
Until fairly recently, most businesses operated within a localized IT environment — often with on-premise servers and networks protected by traditional firewalls. Today, many organizations have migrated to the cloud, leveraging SaaS applications to streamline operations. While this has offered flexibility and scalability, it has also opened the door to new vulnerabilities.
With SaaS platforms, businesses no longer own or manage the infrastructure directly. This means that critical data security depends not just on internal measures but also on the strength of third-party cloud providers. Although these providers offer robust security measures, businesses must still implement their own safeguards, such as strong access controls and multi-factor authentication (MFA), to ensure comprehensive protection.
This is where partnering with a provider like Cloud at Work can help. Cloud at Work can help manage cloud security tasks that are too complex or resource-intensive for SMBs, ensuring critical business applications like Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, Sage HRMS, and Sage Fixed Assets remain secure and compliant with industry standards.
The Cybersecurity Talent Shortage
Amid this shift, businesses are grappling with a cybersecurity talent shortage. The global shortage of cybersecurity professionals is now at 4 million, leaving 71% of organizations with untilled cybersecurity positions. This shortage leaves many businesses vulnerable to attacks, as they may lack the expertise to properly configure security tools, monitor their environments for threats, or respond to incidents effectively. This gap is particularly challenging for SMBs, which often can’t afford to hire full-time cybersecurity professionals.
Rather than attempting to tackle these challenges alone, businesses can turn to partners like Cloud at Work, which provides the infrastructure and the security expertise needed to keep systems secure. By leveraging Cloud at Work’s security services and managed cloud hosting for Sage applications, your business can tap into a team of experts who understand the complexities of securing cloud-based applications and data.
The Expanding Attack Surface
The rise of connected devices (IoT) and the shift to remote work have further expanded the attack surface. Today, employees access company data and systems from various devices, including smartphones, laptops, and even smart home devices. This proliferation of endpoints has created new opportunities for attackers to infiltrate networks.
This shift has made securing remote employees much more complex for businesses. Whereas traditional security models focus on securing a physical office environment, today’s IT teams must account for employees accessing sensitive data from unsecured home networks. Without proper security measures, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and endpoint detection, businesses are exposed to significant risks.
Cloud at Work can monitor, detect, and respond to threats and suspicious activity before they can damage your business. In addition, our virtual private cloud hosting solutions provide an additional layer of security by centralizing Sage and other business applications in a secure, private cloud environment. This approach helps your business limit attack surfaces by securing access to critical business data and applications while controlling who can access your systems.
AI’s Growing Role on Both Sides of Cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape — playing both offense and defense.
For defenders, AI and machine learning (ML) offer incredible advantages. These technologies can automatically detect anomalies in network traffic, identify unusual login patterns, and block threats in real time. AI-based tools are particularly effective at catching zero-day attacks (exploits that haven’t been seen before), which traditional security tools might miss. Many cloud-based security platforms leverage AI to analyze vast volumes of data, detecting potential threats before they wreak havoc on your systems.
However, for attackers, AI is a powerful weapon as well. Cybercriminals are using AI to automate phishing campaigns, making their fraudulent emails look even more authentic and harder to detect. They’re also deploying AI-driven bots to rapidly identify network vulnerabilities, helping them launch more targeted and successful attacks.
Partnering with Cloud at Work gives your business access to cutting-edge AI-driven security tools, allowing you to stay ahead of attackers without investing heavily in expensive technologies or scarce cybersecurity talent. Cloud at Work leverages the latest security technologies, ensuring your business technology environment remains protected from even the most sophisticated cyber threats.
As the cybersecurity landscape shifts, businesses of all sizes must stay agile, informed, and proactive. Partnering with a provider like Cloud at Work ensures you have the tools, resources, and expertise to navigate this complex environment confidently. Reach out to our team to learn more.