The essentiality of hybrid and virtual event security

Cybersecurity is an important factor for just about every business that has a digital presence, and this need for security extends to virtual events as well.

The WEF’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022 shone a light on some of the major cyber threats facing the world today and how businesses can tackle them. Pointing to the high costs of successful cyberattacks, some US$ 3.6 million per incident, the report also raises the fact that only 28% of global cyber leaders believe that current cyber and privacy regulations are effective in reducing their enterprise’s overall risk.

Cybersecurity and virtual events

With many enterprises now embracing remote and hybrid work models, virtual and hybrid event formats will continue to be a key part of global business. In fact, when asked what they expect to be the greatest influence on transforming cybersecurity in the next two years, 28% of cyber leaders point to the shift toward hybrid and WFH models. As more businesses move away from traditional office environments, they are increasingly exposed to new risks. For example, remote workers are often using their own devices for work, which can introduce new vulnerabilities.

It’s no small wonder then that resilience was a key theme emerging from the WEF’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook. Resilience is becoming a critical factor for enterprises to consider when planning their flagship events. In the context of digital event security, this means having contingencies in place to ensure that the event can be resumed in a controlled and secure fashion in the event of an outage or other significant incident. It also means that the event infrastructure is designed to be robust and able to recover quickly from unexpected outages.

A resilient virtual event security plan also means putting in place measures to protect your attendees while they are taking part in the event. This includes using two-factor authentication to keep unauthorized users out and protecting users’ devices against phishing attempts.

Making virtual events secure not only helps you protect critical data but also builds the trust of your attendees

The user experience of the global audience attending your flagship digital event is a critical factor for success. Making sure that your virtual event is secure and safe will not only help you protect the data of your attendees, but it will also improve the user experience and help build trust with your global audience.

With the right cyber monitoring and security measures in place, you can ensure that the information you share will be safe and secure. By building a strong reputation for data security and resilience, your business will be able to attract more attendees to its virtual events in the future.

Therefore, it is vital to implement the right strategies in order to create a safe, secure, and resilient virtual or hybrid event.

Let’s look at a few ways that businesses can improve the cybersecurity of their virtual and hybrid events, and why this is so important for building trust with your global audience.

1. Be prepared

Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing for your next digital event:

Penetration testing: In order to identify vulnerabilities in your system, it is important to conduct regular penetration tests. This will help you to identify and fix any potential security weaknesses before they can be exploited.

Security assessments: It is also important to have an independent security assessment conducted on your system. This will give you an objective overview of your security posture and help you to identify any areas that need improvement.

Cloud infrastructure: Housing your digital event in a single-tenant cloud environment is another important factor in reducing risk and building resilience. A virtual event hosted on isolated infrastructure has fewer interoperability points, which makes it easier to maintain security standards. In addition, this platform means that all your videos, user data, and viewership numbers are completely secure in your own environment.

2. Monitoring your virtual environment on a continuous basis helps you identify potential threats and mitigate any damage before it occurs

By keeping track of the activity happening within your virtual environment, you have a better chance of detecting and preventing an attack before it causes damage to your data. Some of the most important monitoring tools to consider include intrusion detection and prevention systems, as well as hypervisor tools that can help you manage your virtual environment.

3. Have a contingency plan in place

Not only can this help you minimize the impact of a cyberattack but doing so can ensure that your online event can continue running smoothly even in the event of a data breach. This will help to build trust with your global audience, who are looking for digital events that they can rely on for valuable content and information.

Key considerations in keeping your hybrid and virtual event secure

It’s important for event planners to keep up-to-date with the latest cybersecurity trends, as well as to know which technologies can help protect their data and improve the user experience for their global audience. Some of the key considerations to keep in mind include:

Hosting your virtual event on a robust and secure cloud server

While cloud servers can be vulnerable to attacks like Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), there are many measures you can take to mitigate these risks. For example, using a redundant server that is geographically separated from the attack source, as well as implementing security monitoring and automation tools for early detection of DDoS events.

Contingency planning and training for your staff

This is essential not only for handling a potential cyberattack, but also to improve user experience during online events. Contingency planning can help ensure that your virtual event remains up and running even if something unexpected were to occur. By taking these steps, businesses can greatly improve the cybersecurity of their hybrid event.

Final thoughts

As virtual events become more and more common, it’s important to have a reliable and secure platform to host them. That’s where Dexper comes in. Our platform infrastructure meets the highest standards for security and compliance. We also undergo regular security assessments and pen testing to make sure our system is as secure as possible. Plus, our high-security cloud infrastructure helps keep your virtual event will be safe and private. With privacy and security at the forefront of what we do, Dexper is built for enterprises.