Working From Home and Covid-19: Top 3 Security lessons learned from the pandemic
The current COVID-19 pandemic is not only the biggest factor facilitating the adoption of working from home but is also one of the biggest factors making today’s cyberspace more hostile. Cybercriminals are now using pandemic-themed scams and digital attacks to target businesses and unsuspecting users. Experts report a staggering 400% increase in cybersecurity breaches while recording 4,000 digital attack attempts per day – all thanks to the pandemic.
Security lessons learned from the pandemic
Its been a year since the pandemic shook the world, making remote working the new normal and presenting security experts with a host of new and increased security challenges to deal with. Sudden lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, disturbed economic operations, and other pandemic-influenced factors left both businesses and average technology users unprepared against the surge of remote cybersecurity risks. Companies that never implemented remote working business strategies were forced to change their business dynamics to assure business continuity. As both remote workers and companies struggled to maintain digital security and well-being, many fell prey to the sophisticated cybercriminals’ modern cyberattack vectors. Statistics reveal that a colossal 16 billion records were exfiltrated just last year. Fast forward to today, the situation has gotten only worse. Intensity, damage capabilities, and the number of cyberattacks have increased out of proportion, making cybersecurity again the highest priority of business and security experts.
However, this past year has been highly educational for the security professionals and companies as they get to assess how well their cybersecurity infrastructure and digital security solutions really are. And the results can be encapsulated in the fact that despite the heavy investments made by businesses to improve their state of cybersecurity, as high as 80% of IT and security professionals report not having acceptable security protection measures to tackle modern security threats. While the security breach cases last year spiked to over 1923 cases, exposing nearly 37 billion records and affecting more than 155.8 million individuals there are certainly many lessons that experts have learned from their experiences. Here are the top 3 work from home security lessons the world has learned so far due to the pandemic.
Lesson 1: Strengthen Your Endpoint Security
Endpoints include IoT devices and IT gadgets and equipment such as laptops, tabs, mobiles, servers, WIFI routers, and so on. The pandemic massively increased the number of online connected devices and the time users spending on their devices. This means many users overlooking digital security fundamentals, making poor choices while using the internet and applications – consequently exposing themselves to countless security threats. Likewise, the businesses now have lower on-site IT teams and security experts to assess the security risks and maintain the IT equipment and other endpoints. The massive amount of endpoints connecting online and end-users lacking the necessary skills and training to protect their endpoints are some of the most common causes of data breaches that have been reported by experts. Next-generation endpoint security can offer businesses the required security tools, policies, and procedures to detect and mitigate modern security threats.
Lesson 2: Using encryption is the key
The use of encryption to protect data and networks remains the key to maximizing data security and privacy. Encryption does not allow adversaries to view, access, or use the compromised data/information, hence, it provides complete data protection. Remote workers must use a highly reputed VPN while working remotely, while businesses must use modern remote access solutions to securely connect and communicate with their employees. VPN encrypting the digital footprint while remote access security solutions fortifying the weak spots and governing all the digital activities can provide dependable protection to remote workers and workplaces.
Lesson 3: Cybersecurity awareness remains vital
Employees and remote users will continue to remain the weakest link in cybersecurity unless they learn the essentials of cybersecurity. A recent survey found that an alarming 90% of the respondents are certain that remote employees pose a greater security risk as compared to outside threats. The results of the survey align with the fact that 95% of breaches throughout the globe happen due to some form of human mistake. If employees and technology end-users will not spend time and resources in learning the fundamentals of cybersecurity education and training, they will continue to expose themselves and their workplaces to security risks.
The above-mentioned are the essence of remote working cybersecurity lessons the pandemic has taught the world. As cyber threats continue to evolve, maintaining digital security will become more important and challenging. In the end, it all boils down to how well you are prepared against modern security risks. Having digital security education can help you in identifying and preventing threats, while as a business, encouraging or providing your employees’ mandatory security awareness and training can significantly lower the chances of breaches and cyber incidents.