Any business will have been over the questions of cybersecurity more times in the last several years than they would care to remember. The WannaCry ransomware attack of 2017, and a plethora of other data breaches that have affected businesses such as eBay, Adobe, and Yahoo among others, have shown that even the biggest companies are not immune. Add this knowledge to the present-day situation, where businesses are already set to face stresses the like of which we have never seen, and there is a lot for owners to think about.
The unavoidable truth is that, where there is a crisis, there will always be people willing to exploit it. It need hardly be said that the Coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for cyber criminals to make hay, so what is the best advice for businesses who want to protect their online security in what is set to be a tumultuous few months (at the very least)?
Take special care if you’re working in healthcare
If you were a cyber-criminal with an eye for an opportunity amid a global health crisis, where would you target your phishing and hacking efforts? Regrettably, considering the high stakes we are all facing right now, it is healthcare businesses that are most prone to data breaches and malware attacks right now, so if you are in that sector, step up every effort to keep your business safe. A popular trick for such campaigns sees them sending emails claiming to have a breakthrough in finding a vaccine or a cure for the virus; engaging with them triggers a chain of events that can see them installing ransomware on your servers.
If you’re working from home, use a VPN
Most of us have, by now, stopped going to work in an office or any external workplace due to advice on quarantining. At this point, we’re probably fairly used to it and there will be those of us who stick with this mode of working even after the crisis has ended. With that said, working from home, often on a laptop using our domestic WiFi, does make us easier targets for hackers. If you’ve moved to this mode of working, make sure you use a VPN – and only open email from addresses you recognise; it’s easy to feel more relaxed when working from home, but that’s what cybercriminals are banking on.
It may be hard, but think long term
At some point in the future, there is one certainty and one possibility. The certainty is that there will be an end to this crisis, and a return to something resembling normality. The possibility is that your business will be part of a merger or a buyout. This will involve a look over the most recent past moves of your business, on and offline. If you want to be more fully informed on cyber due diligence read more from SmartRoom, but to make a long story short, you want to make sure there is nothing in your history that negatively affects how your company is valued. Even though you have countless other things to keep an eye on in these trying times, don’t let cybersecurity be the ball you take your eye off.
