Remote and hybrid work haven’t just changed where many of us work; they have expanded the cyberattack surface and reshaped the ways risk moves through an organization. Laptops hop from kitchen tables to coffee shops. Sensitive files live in the cloud. Slack messages replace hallway conversations. While this flexibility is a win for professionals and, often, a catalyst for enhanced productivity, remote work also gives cybercriminals more chances to slip inside a company’s digital defenses. Most costly cybersecurity incidents don’t start with elite hackers battering down firewalls. They start with everyday employees making very human mistakes.
Remote workers may hesitate to “bother” the IT team with questions or concerns, or asynchronous schedules may mean a wait for expert help. Home networks may not have the robust protections of those in an office setting. Cybercriminals are very aware of the vulnerabilities that come with remote work, and they’re taking advantage: In 2025, 78% of organizations with remote staff reported experiencing at least one security incident related to remote work.
Teaching all staff how to recognize threats and follow basic digital hygiene is now foundational risk management; every employee is part of the security stack, whether they know it or not. That reality leaves many leaders asking a practical question: What should every employee actually be taught—and required—to do? And how can executives without a cybersecurity background cover the essentials without killing the flexibility that makes remote work attractive and effective?
The members of the Senior Executive Cybersecurity Think Tank specialize in enterprise cybersecurity strategies, data breach prevention and risk management. Here, two of them cut through the jargon to focus on remote and hybrid cybersecurity fundamentals that scale, habits leaders can model, and simple expectations that significantly reduce risk—no computer science degree required.
“You don’t need a cybersecurity background to model smart habits or build a culture where vigilance is second nature.”
Start With Awareness, Access and Accountability
Cybersecurity may be powered by technology, but Ryan Farsai, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Brand and Global Communications at Illumio, makes it clear that technology cannot be viewed as both the first and last lines of defense.
“Cybersecurity starts with people,” Farsai says. “In a hybrid world, every employee is both a risk and a defense.”
That reality determines which fundamentals matter most—for Farsai, those are awareness, access and accountability. In terms of awareness, the goal isn’t to turn employees into security experts. It’s to help them think differently about risk.
“Awareness means teaching employees how to think, not just what to click,” he says.
Turning to access, Farsai explains that common-sense, tested controls should be treated like basic safety equipment, not optional upgrades.
“Access controls are the seatbelts of the digital workplace,” he says. “Minimum access, multifactor authentication and secure file sharing are nonnegotiable.” When those standards are consistent and enforced across remote and hybrid teams, they effectively limit how far an attack can spread.
Accountability, however, starts at the top. But Farsai says execs don’t need to be experts to influence outcomes.
“Accountability begins with leadership,” he says. “You don’t need a cybersecurity background to model smart habits or build a culture where vigilance is second nature.”
Applied together, these three security fundamentals enable remote organizations to form a comprehensive, cooperative defense rather than just ticking items off a checklist.
“Cybersecurity is an ecosystem—when people, processes and technology work together, we stop threats before they spread,” Farsai concludes.
“Cybersecurity doesn’t mean locking everything down. It means knowing what’s exposed, who’s responsible, and how quickly you can respond. ”
Make Managing Cyber Risk Everyone’s Responsibility
For Maman Ibrahim, Founder of Ginkgo Resilience LTD, effective cybersecurity starts by making sure everyone across the organization understands common risks and effective defense tools.
“Start with the basics that scale,” Ibrahim says. “Every employee should understand how to spot phishing, handle sensitive data, use password managers and avoid unsecured WiFi or personal device risks. Multifactor authentication must be nonnegotiable.”
Training alone isn’t enough, however—especially in remote environments where the IT specialist isn’t in the next cubicle over. Employees need clarity about what they need to do when something goes wrong.
“Companies need clear protocols: what to do, who to call and how fast to act,” Ibrahim says.
Even with so much on the line, remote and hybrid models require a careful balancing act for leaders. With training and oversight must come trust. That’s an easier goal to reach when every team member takes digital security seriously.
“Remote and hybrid setups demand visibility without surveillance,” Ibrahim advises. “Leaders without cybersecurity expertise should strongly partner with security, build accountability into team structures, and make risk part of everyday language, not just IT’s job.”
He notes that such a mindset helps dispel common misconceptions that security and flexibility are at odds and that remote work is inherently more risky than the alternative.
“Cybersecurity doesn’t mean locking everything down,” Ibrahim says. “It means knowing what’s exposed, who’s responsible, and how quickly you can respond. When everyone understands their role, remote work becomes not just viable but also safer than a poorly managed office.”
Practical Ways to Lower Risk—Starting Today
- Make security awareness about mindset, not memorization. Teach employees how to think about risk so they can spot problems even when threats don’t look familiar.
- Treat access controls as nonnegotiable safety measures. Minimum access, multifactor authentication and secure file sharing limit damage when mistakes inevitably happen.
- Model accountability from the top. When leaders follow the same security rules as everyone else, vigilance becomes cultural rather than optional.
- Ensure every employee understands common threats and tools. Phishing detection, password managers and safe WiFi use are baseline skills for modern workforces.
- Define clear response protocols before an incident occurs. Employees should know exactly what to do, who to contact and how quickly to act when something feels off.
- Balance visibility with trust in remote environments. Effective cybersecurity supports flexibility by clarifying responsibility rather than relying on surveillance.
Making Cybersecurity Work Wherever Work Happens
Remote and hybrid work are no longer experiments; they’re everyday operating models. As attack surfaces expand and threats grow more opportunistic, cybersecurity resilience depends less on perfect technology and more on consistent human behavior. Awareness, access controls and accountability create a baseline that holds whether employees are at home, in transit or back in the office.
Organizations that treat cybersecurity as a shared responsibility—not a specialized function buried in IT—will be better positioned to adapt and defend themselves as work continues to evolve. Leaders don’t need to master the technical details, but they do need to set expectations, model good habits and reinforce the reality that managing cyber risk is part of everyone’s daily to-do list.
