Interview: Lloyd Evans, LogMeIn

How has Australia coped with COVID-induced changes to operations and workplaces? Will things go back to normal in 2022?

Over the past two years we’ve discovered a lot of new ways of working out of necessity. First, not being able to work face to face challenged the way we collaborate. Organisations were required to put substantial effort into integrating their virtual meeting solutions with technologies such as instant messaging and live document sharing to help people to work asynchronously, while balancing the ‘working from home’ lifestyles (homeschooling, remote locations, disparate time zones, etc). Second, the perimeter of the office has been redefined by employees working from their home offices. People are accessing their work applications using unsecured networks or their own devices, and this has driven organisations to implement tools to help adequately manage the identity of their employees while providing safe access to sensitive information. Last, with the increased use of work on personal devices in a remote setting, organisations have implemented technologies to ensure their employees are supported at all times and from anywhere. This is especially important for government organisations as they ensure continuity to the services they provide for their constituents while keeping everyone safe.

What is the major potential tech pain point that will face organisations large and small in 2022?

Based on the findings of the most recent Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) report produced by Verizon, 85% of the data breaches globally occur due to human error — most related to compromised or stolen credentials. This trend is consistent in Australia — the OAIC reported 62% of cyber incidents in 2021 were attributed to compromised or stolen credentials. It’s a fact, hackers aren’t hacking in, they are logging in, and password management is the Achilles heel of the cybersecurity landscape. Organisations across the region have recognised this risk and put in place several programs to help their employees to be educated about the multiple ways their personal data is vulnerable and can be used maliciously to breach corporate sensitive information. Institutions need to invest in solutions that help protect the digital identity of their employees. This can be achieved by integrating their existing single sign-on and multifactor authentication technologies with a password manager such as LastPass by LogMeIn.

How can I.T. have greater impact on organisational efficiency in 2022, and who (CEOs, CIOS) should be in charge?

Organisational efficiently is a cross-functional effort. Leadership defines culture, and culture defines performance. All the leaders within the organisations need to work together to determine the vision and policies in which the employees will operate going forward (remote working, hybrid or full-time in the office). From that point of view, Leaders in I.T. need to take the necessary steps to build or rebuild the ecosystem with hardware and software to enable people to do their best work.

What’s on your tech wish-list from governments, innovators and the wider industry in 2022?

This year we’ve seen organisations embracing digital transformation like never before, this is also the case for malicious actors attempting to hack individuals’ personal data. There is an opportunity for governments and leaders in IT to further implement programs to help their constituents be educated about how their personal data is vulnerable and the ways to fortify their digital footprint.

Lloyd Evans leads LastPass business for JAPAC. When he’s not training for his next ultra-marathon, Lloyd enables organisations to elevate their security posture while saving money and time. A cybersecurity, cloud and technology industry veteran, Lloyd has previously held senior sales roles with Solar Winds, CBA, St. George Bank and Macquarie Bank.