Cybersecurity in Summer (2)

Our second article on summer cybersecurity is about getting your digital back-to-work right. Vacation is winding down, the calendar is filling up, notifications are back, and 216 unread emails are blinking at you on Monday morning. The digital return to work can quickly turn into a disaster, for mental health as much as for cybersecurity. Between the tools we pile up without a second thought, the duplicate files and the alerts stacking up in our inboxes, going back to work is a critical moment.

A Big Digital Spring Cleaning for the Return to Work

We often put it off, but this is the ideal time. Taking stock of your tools and practices at the start of the season is far from superfluous: it brings back efficiency and security, but also mental clarity.

● Remove unused tools

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In business, the average company uses 88 different applications, according to numerous studies. But only half of them are actually used. Yet every abandoned tool can become an entry point for an attack, a leak vector, or an attention sink that pulls you away from your truly productive tasks.

Take stock:

• Which apps haven’t been used in 3 months?
• Is access still justified?
• Are there duplicate tools?

This is the right time to close accounts properly, uninstall superfluous tools, and streamline your range of software.

● Sort your files and emails: not just for tidiness, but for compliance

Sometimes, for example, HR files can contain personal and sensitive data for several years after employees have left the company. Yet in almost every country, companies carry a heavy legal responsibility when it comes to data retention. In the event of an audit or a leak, unjustified retention alone is enough to make the company liable.

Emails, shared folders, obsolete documents: delete what no longer has a reason to exist, file what must be kept, and apply the retention periods set out in internal policy.

Review Security Policies

Every return to work is a good time to update what we think we know well, but in fact haven’t reread in months, even years. For example, the company security charter, which we sometimes just signed without really reading it, and certainly without thinking too hard about it.

Rereading the IT security policy, as well as the password policy and the access rights management policy, is a good habit to adopt every fall. And while rereading, ask the right questions.

• Are the policies still up to date with the tools actually in use?
• Do they cover new practices in remote work, mobility, or new AI tools?
• Do they take into account the changes brought about by internal reorganizations?
• Which authentication methods are used, and are they up to date with the latest recommendations? (notably: passwordless rather than complex passwords)

Build In Regulatory Monitoring

Nothing is more dangerous than being overwhelmed by legal developments once the train has left the station. It is better to anticipate major deadlines, especially in a digital landscape undergoing rapid change.

New regulations, whether national or regional, have several points in common. They generally impose:

• stricter incident notification obligations
• a wider range of entities covered
• greater responsibilities for executives

Regulators are also increasingly vigilant about:

• algorithmic profiling
• data transfers outside the EU / outside the region / into the EU
• unjustified processing in HR and marketing

In addition, the use of AI is increasingly regulated. In the European Union, for example, the AI Act is coming into force gradually in 2025 and 2026. Equivalents of this regulation are being put in place around the world. It is therefore imperative to take stock of how AI is used.

Notably, we see:

• Transparency obligations
• A classification of “high-risk” uses

Take Care of Yourself: Avoiding Digital Burnout

Going back to work also means the return of thousands of emails, relentless notifications, overflowing calendars, and fragmented attention. Yet digital overload harms concentration as much as mental health.

A few simple steps:

• Close unnecessary tabs (literally and mentally)
• Set quiet hours (by default, not as a last resort)
• Remove non-essential alerts
• Reduce communication channels

It cannot be said often enough: not everything has to be instant.
Encouraging asynchronous work in teams reduces the pressure of “immediate replies,” promotes concentration, and prevents cognitive overload.

In many companies, for example, “no messaging” time slots have been introduced: between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., nobody checks their email. The result: better productivity, less stress.

Disconnecting does not mean being absent. It means setting clear limits. In Japan, one of the most productive nations in the world, it is even an absolute rule of life: focus only on the task at hand.

An executive who stops answering emails after 7 p.m. sends a strong signal to their teams: it is not a luxury, it is a lever of collective performance. And that is also how you can be happy at work

The return to work should not be something we simply endure. It is an opportunity, and an excellent time to realign practices, modernize tools, and take care of the humans behind the screens.

We will be back in mid-September with our article on cyber fatigue, after a short summer break. In the meantime, if you have a film, a series, software or an ebook to protect, don’t hesitate to call on our services by contacting one of our account managers; PDN has been a pioneer in cybersecurity and anti-piracy for more than ten years, and we are bound to have a solution to help you. Happy reading, and see you soon!

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