Cybersecurity: In times of coronavirus, the home office has stood out for allowing both the continuity of business operations and social relationships in the face of confinement guidelines.
However, this new scenario implies extra care. With more people at home, cybercriminals tend to take the opportunity to take action more often. Hence the importance of being aware of the risks and raising the teams’ awareness.
The Growth Of Cyberattacks Is Proportional To The Use Of The Home Office
The study carried out by the consultancy Deloitte in 2019 proves that cybersecurity was already emerging as one of the main concerns of entrepreneurs, even before the global spread of the coronavirus.
Such care, by the way, has many justifications. To give you an idea, according to the American institution Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a company’s revenue can drop by 5% if it suffers from a problem related to fraud. In 2020, with the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, information security gained even greater prominence in the corporate universe. With so many people working from home, the risks increase.
Digital content related to the disease has been used as “bait” for information theft. Therefore, making employees aware of the most common forms of attacks and the measures to avoid them is essential.
Recurring Digital Threat
One of the leading cyber threats is phishing. It is a type of virtual crime where the attacker can “fish” important user information, such as access passwords. Therefore, the term derives from fishing, which means “fishing.”
Usually, the criminal impersonates a particular company and sends a fake link or email to the user. This type of communication has a visual aspect similar to that of the company in question – logo, colors, and similar data.
When the victim clicks, they are soon redirected to a fake page. And that’s where the theft of information happens. In addition to the virtual environment, teams are also exposed to phone traps, passing confidential data to a fake IT support team. And thus, the company is subject to a considerable loss – both financially and in compliance with data protection laws ( such as LGPD ).
Cyber Attacks In Practice: How They Can Occur
There are different paths for receiving phishing attacks and other criminal actions to steal data. Thus, it is essential to redouble care with:
- Emails: are the means most used by criminals. False communications, for example, can be sent to employees, asking them to send confidential data ;
- Apps: different companies and health bodies invest in apps with detailed guidance on COVID-19. However, fake devices have already been identified, created precisely for data theft;
- Links: Many of them are in English, purposely to confuse people. The criminal suggests installing software to carry out an alleged remote work in these cases.
Awareness Is Essential
Basic security precautions are the best ways to avoid problems related to data theft. It is then up to managers and the Human Resources team to work together to make their employees aware of the risks, guiding them on how to act in situations that threaten cybersecurity.
Creating A Policy Is Essential
In addition to the recommendations that must be made, developing a specific policy for working from home is an essential measure. This document will establish rules of conduct and complete the consequences. The language of the material must be clear and efficient. All risks must be included. Therefore, it is essential to consult with the IT team to create the policy.
Conclusion
In this cybersecurity article for business, we talk about remote work as an alternative widely adopted by companies worldwide to protect their employees and prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, this change could increase cyber-attacks on corporate files and systems. Therefore, we have seen that employee awareness is essential to circumvent the action of criminals.
Also Read: Cybersecurity: The Importance Of Protecting Systems And Data