Enterprise cybersecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic
November 2020
Because of the coronavirus outbreak offices have been forced to adjust their working conditions and transfer to remote environments. And obviously, they introduce a lot of unique challenges to deal with.
Here are some top tips for companies to protect themselves during these hard times.
And it is quite easy for hackers to take advantage of this, after impersonating that certain person within the team. That is why it is critical to developing a set of communication guidelines and rules in the addition to using special enterprise-oriented communication tools like Slack. All these measures will ensure your employees won’t be tricked or hacked.
Teach your employees to spot phishing and malware attacks
It had always been the case but nowadays phishing has become one of the most dangerous threats for businesses as it is responsible for more than 90% of all breaches. On the wave of public anxiety, coronavirus-related phishing attacks are on their top, with an enormous amount of fake sites created to steal user’s credentials during remote work.
Usually, all these attacks are based on infected downloaded files which can provide control over a system to a hacker and even infect other devices in the same network.
Thus, training employees to detect possible phishing and malware scams is an essential part of enterprise cybersecurity. Implementing passwordless authentication is another tactic for securing your corporate systems from malicious takeover.
Train employees in cybersecurity hygiene
It may seem fun, but even the most basic things like multi-factor authentication, changing default passwords on home routers and other default passwords, and regular software updates can increase the level of security dramatically. And there are almost no special technical skills are required for that.
Secure your business VPN by turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA)
If your employees aren’t already using a VPN to access your company’s private systems, then they should be.
A VPN, or virtual private network, is just that, a private network. VPNs reroute all web activity so that it passes through a private network. These are generally protected with robust security systems. Generally speaking, VPNs are far more secure than any network your employee may be using while they work from home.
Implement mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA)
As we’ve said earlier, MFA is an easy-to-use but very powerful tool to protect confidential data from being compromised. Yeah, it might be a little bit frustrating to use it multiple times a day, but the benefits are far more significant and that is why MFA should be mandatory for all your business’s systems.
Review who has privileged access to your IT systems
Unfortunately, most cyberattacks launched against businesses are perpetrated by employees. That it’s why it is the best time to check user’s privileges and restrict them, where it’s possible.
Teach employees how to backup data to avoid data loss
It might be the case in the office environment too, but in “working from home” conditions data loss is more likely to happen. That is why cloud investments in cloud-based backup solutions, like Acronis, for example, is very important. This will help ensure that important work and systems changes aren’t lost.
Teach your employees how to encrypt their data
With employees now working from their personal devices, there will likely be some point in time that your private files will end up on their personal computers or mobile devices. This poses a big security risk if the computer is somehow taken over by a malicious party.
That’s why it’s important to teach your employees how to encrypt their “at-rest” data.
Implement a “lost/stolen devices” policy
If an employee loses their personal device, they may not think to tell you. The failure to report a lost/stolen device can put your company at significant security risks and is considered a failure to report a data breach in some jurisdictions.
It’s important to remember that data-privacy laws are still in effect. In most jurisdictions, you only have 72 hours to report a data-breach before you risk being fined. having to pay hefty fines. To help protect your business against the significant financial and reputational costs of a data breach, it’s important to implement processes so that your employees report any potential breaches as soon as possible.
Have processes for reporting suspicious activity
It’s a good thing to train your employees to find and avoid threats. But let’s say, what if the malicious link has been opened? Whatever the situation is, it is extremely important to have the means to report threats.
It is most likely that hackers will attack multiple users within your organization. Using some kind of report tolls will help security teams to intercept attacks sooner.
Conclusion
Of course, all these coronavirus situations have caught a lot of businesses off-guard, but these simple steps will help your organization to stay safe and secured.
If you are familiar with these problems, contact us at + 971 4 439 6987 and our team of professionals will be glad to help you!
Because of the coronavirus outbreak offices have been forced to adjust their working conditions and transfer to remote environments. And obviously, they introduce a lot of unique challenges to deal with.
Here are some top tips for companies to protect themselves during these hard times.
- Utilize secure collaboration tools and set clear communication guidelines
- Teach your employees to spot phishing and malware attacks
- Train employees in cybersecurity hygiene
- Secure your business VPN by turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Implement mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Review who has privileged access to your IT systems
- Teach employees how to backup data to avoid lost work
- Teach your employees how to encrypt their data
- Implement a “lost/stolen devices” policy
- Have processes for reporting suspicious activity
- Utilize secure collaboration tools and set clear communication guidelines
And it is quite easy for hackers to take advantage of this, after impersonating that certain person within the team. That is why it is critical to developing a set of communication guidelines and rules in the addition to using special enterprise-oriented communication tools like Slack. All these measures will ensure your employees won’t be tricked or hacked.
Teach your employees to spot phishing and malware attacks
It had always been the case but nowadays phishing has become one of the most dangerous threats for businesses as it is responsible for more than 90% of all breaches. On the wave of public anxiety, coronavirus-related phishing attacks are on their top, with an enormous amount of fake sites created to steal user’s credentials during remote work.
Usually, all these attacks are based on infected downloaded files which can provide control over a system to a hacker and even infect other devices in the same network.
Thus, training employees to detect possible phishing and malware scams is an essential part of enterprise cybersecurity. Implementing passwordless authentication is another tactic for securing your corporate systems from malicious takeover.
Train employees in cybersecurity hygiene
It may seem fun, but even the most basic things like multi-factor authentication, changing default passwords on home routers and other default passwords, and regular software updates can increase the level of security dramatically. And there are almost no special technical skills are required for that.
Secure your business VPN by turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA)
If your employees aren’t already using a VPN to access your company’s private systems, then they should be.
A VPN, or virtual private network, is just that, a private network. VPNs reroute all web activity so that it passes through a private network. These are generally protected with robust security systems. Generally speaking, VPNs are far more secure than any network your employee may be using while they work from home.
Implement mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA)
As we’ve said earlier, MFA is an easy-to-use but very powerful tool to protect confidential data from being compromised. Yeah, it might be a little bit frustrating to use it multiple times a day, but the benefits are far more significant and that is why MFA should be mandatory for all your business’s systems.
Review who has privileged access to your IT systems
Unfortunately, most cyberattacks launched against businesses are perpetrated by employees. That it’s why it is the best time to check user’s privileges and restrict them, where it’s possible.
Teach employees how to backup data to avoid data loss
It might be the case in the office environment too, but in “working from home” conditions data loss is more likely to happen. That is why cloud investments in cloud-based backup solutions, like Acronis, for example, is very important. This will help ensure that important work and systems changes aren’t lost.
Teach your employees how to encrypt their data
With employees now working from their personal devices, there will likely be some point in time that your private files will end up on their personal computers or mobile devices. This poses a big security risk if the computer is somehow taken over by a malicious party.
That’s why it’s important to teach your employees how to encrypt their “at-rest” data.
Implement a “lost/stolen devices” policy
If an employee loses their personal device, they may not think to tell you. The failure to report a lost/stolen device can put your company at significant security risks and is considered a failure to report a data breach in some jurisdictions.
It’s important to remember that data-privacy laws are still in effect. In most jurisdictions, you only have 72 hours to report a data-breach before you risk being fined. having to pay hefty fines. To help protect your business against the significant financial and reputational costs of a data breach, it’s important to implement processes so that your employees report any potential breaches as soon as possible.
Have processes for reporting suspicious activity
It’s a good thing to train your employees to find and avoid threats. But let’s say, what if the malicious link has been opened? Whatever the situation is, it is extremely important to have the means to report threats.
It is most likely that hackers will attack multiple users within your organization. Using some kind of report tolls will help security teams to intercept attacks sooner.
Conclusion
Of course, all these coronavirus situations have caught a lot of businesses off-guard, but these simple steps will help your organization to stay safe and secured.
If you are familiar with these problems, contact us at + 971 4 439 6987 and our team of professionals will be glad to help you!
