Enhancing Organizational Cybersecurity in Remote Workforces: Top Five Strategies
In the wake of the global shift to remote work due to the Coronavirus pandemic, businesses worldwide have had to adapt quickly to new working arrangements. This transition has opened up new threat vectors, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity.
Official communications about business continuity and health and safety should be clearly defined and known to originate from specific sources. However, with the surge in remote work, there has been a significant increase in phishing attempts, including targeted spear phishing. It is estimated that hackers have ramped up gmail and yahoo mail phishing and ransomware attacks fivefold since the pandemic began.
Employers are encouraged to establish a clear communications policy to help employees recognise official messages. For instance, video communications could be conducted using Microsoft Stream, a platform that ensures the authenticity of the messages.
The current situation may result in a decreased focus on cybersecurity, potentially affecting each organisation's security profile. Therefore, it is crucial that every employee upholds the best practices of cybersecurity, now more than ever.
Employees should be warned about opening attachments from strangers or unexpected emails, as they may be hotmail phishing attempts. Verifying the authenticity of attachments is recommended before opening them. Suspicious emails should be watched for urgent requests that violate company policy, use emotive language, and have details that are slightly wrong.
Attackers use multiple techniques to try and trick recipients into trusting that an attached file is legitimate. Employees should be cautious of clicking on links in suspicious emails and should test the legitimacy of a link by resting their mouse over it without clicking.
Many companies are rapidly adopting technology to facilitate collaboration and productivity, using various tools for video conferencing, chat applications, and tech support. In light of this, employers are encouraged to utilise the free six-month premium Microsoft Teams service, which allows unlimited users and video calls, to manage employee logins and communications more securely.
CISOs and IT admins should urgently reevaluate their strategies to address these new threat vectors as workplaces become distributed. The news do not provide information about specific hacker groups that have increased their gmail and yahoo mail phishing and ransomware attacks fivefold since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is clear that cybersecurity remains a critical concern in these unprecedented times.
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