Security always gets a little more difficult when you're sharing the office building. A lot of cybersecurity and data protection regulations are easier to comply with when you have a whole office building for yourself. Not only do you have complete control of the network from the base connections on the ground floor, you can regulate all of the entrances and exits.

But most companies don't have the size requirements to justify having an entire building. Securing a floor is more challenging but doable, especially if you can have third-party network providers set up separate network infrastructures for each floor.

If you have to share your floor with other companies, maintaining compliance is harder. But a new trend in corporate office spaces will make security even more challenging: retail spaces in your co-working space.

Retailers know that corporate office workers don't necessarily have time to take care of the errands they need to throughout the day. Impulse shopping and retail to-do lists are hard to complete during the evening rush hour, and stores know that the hassle decreases sales. That's why retailers are starting to rent units in co-working spaces.

What are the major concerns with co-working retail spaces?

When you're not sharing a floor or even a building with just other corporate companies, you face unique cybersecurity risks including:

The stores offer free wi-fi

Stores know that offering free Internet access is still a large draw. But that means you will have hundreds of untrackable, unverified people throughout the building. Make sure your network is individually secured and that there's little risk of customers overloading any shared infrastructure.

The building is a more tempting target.

Before, your company was already a target for online malicious actors who want data. But now the building has client data, the stores' customer data, and live transaction information. Your security employees need to brush up on the most likely attacks in the consumer sector, not just the corporate one.

Call our team today to learn more about other cybersecurity threats in your industry.