Strategies to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime During a Pandemic

With many companies adopting work-from-home policies in the wake of the current pandemic, cybersecurity is more important than ever. After all, cybercriminals are seeking to exploit these uncertain times brought on by the coronavirus to target both companies and individuals. While many of us are having to continue basic everyday business operations from home, it is crucial that a focus on cybersecurity not fall to the wayside. Today, TeknaByte will be highlighting how you can build a strategy to protect yourself from cybercriminals during a pandemic.

While there are many challenges presented by the coronavirus, including how to maintain focus on work, stay productive, and balance other priorities, it is vital that a focus on cybersecurity remain of the utmost importance for businesses. There are many ways that cybercriminals are currently exploiting the coronavirus in order to gain access to confidential, sensitive business information. Make sure you are prepared to defend yourself with these tips from TeknaByte!

How Cybercriminals Are Using Coronavirus to Attack Businesses

In the midst of the coronavirus, cybercriminals are getting smarter than ever. This is evident in reports of increased cyberattacks on those working from home. Most commonly, we have seen the emergence of cyberattacks centered around the coronavirus. This is found in attacks using COVID-19-themed phishing emails.

These emails, masquerading under the appearance of a trusted source of information on how to protect yourself from the coronavirus, lure individuals in and have them click a malicious link that then downloads Remote Administration Tools (RATs) on their devices. Once cybercriminals have gained access to your devices in this way, they gain access to sensitive business information and controls.

Another tactic that cybercriminals are using in the age of the coronavirus is found in multiple reports of malicious COVID-19-themed Android applications. Upon being opened, these applications give cybercriminals access to smartphone data, as well as allowing them to encrypt the device in question for a ransom.

It is clear that cybercriminals are taking advantage of the fact that such a large amount of the population is now working from home. This is due to the fact that many people have neglected to apply the usual cybersecurity solutions on their home networks despite these networks now being used for work-related purposes. For this reason, it is crucial that you are building a cybersecurity strategy to protect yourself in these increasingly dangerous times. Here’s how.

Building a Cybersecurity Strategy to Protect Yourself

During these critical times, it is essential that business leaders are giving a heightened sense of responsibility to cybersecurity. If you are a business owner, it is required that you set clear expectations of how your employees should handle managing security risks in their new work environments. This is done by building a cybersecurity strategy to protect you, your employees, and your business overall.

Here are three ways that TeknaByte recommends building a cybersecurity strategy to ward off attacks from cybercriminals during the pandemic.

Identify the Threats to Your Organization

During these uncertain times, it is more important than ever that you, as a business owner, work with your cybersecurity provider to identify any and all areas of vulnerability. With more employees working from home, it is essential that you identify all areas that cybercriminals could possibly exploit. You should also be prioritizing the protection of your most sensitive information and business-critical operations alongside your IT management provider.

Provide Clear Guidance and Encourage Communication

Next, it is important that you are providing clear guidance to your employees as they transition into working from home. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that all working-from-home policies are clear, including easy-to-follow steps that give your employees all the tools they need to work from home safely and securely. This should, of course, include encouraging your employees to communicate with your cybersecurity team to keep track of any suspicious activities that may signal a breach of security from cybercriminals.

Provide Sufficient Security Capabilities

In building a strategy to protect you, your employees, and your overall business from cybercriminals during the pandemic, it is also vital that you ensure that all company-owned or managed devices are equipped with the necessary security capabilities. Be sure to extend the very same network security best practices within the corporate environment to the at-home environment to the best of your ability. These security capabilities include:

• the ability to securely connect users to their business-critical cloud and on-premise applications
• the ability to enforce two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication
• the ability to block exploits, malware, and command-and-control (C2) traffic using real-time, automated threat intelligence
• sufficient endpoint protection on all laptops and mobile devices
• strategies to filter malicious domain URLs to eliminate the risk of common phishing attacks

Let TeknaByte Guide Your Cybersecurity Efforts During the Pandemic

Now that you know how to effectively build a strategy to protect yourself from cybercriminals during the current pandemic, it is crucial that you have the right IT service provider by your side. At TeknaByte, we provide the best in cybersecurity services and know that in the wake of the current pandemic, our services are more needed than ever.

We specialize in giving you the best cybersecurity so that you are free to focus on the everyday operation of your business. Let us help you reinforce your company network and ensure that you, your employees, and your business are protected during these uncertain times. Contact us today to learn more about our cybersecurity services! We’ll be happy to help.