Cybersecurity and Covid-19 – two months into pandemic measures2 min read

As we still find ourselves in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s useful to take stock of the current cybersecurity landscape. With social distancing measures still in place, the majority of offices are still working from home, presenting a myriad of security concerns. Financial institutions are experiencing extremely heightened amounts of cyberattacks. And high-profile data breaches, like the recent EasyJet hack, are still occurring. So, how can we properly respond to this seemingly never-ending barrage of information and threats?

Throughout the pandemic, there has been a call for organisations to bring their cybersecurity back to the basics – that is, ensuring that data protection policies are up to date, providing employees with adequate training to prevent phishing attacks and continuing regular vulnerability scams to patch any weak points in security. This should be regularly refreshed and enforced, as employees may be distracted or susceptible to frauds in this continuous high-stress time, rendering hackers more successful. According to VMWare Carbon Black, attacks to the financial sector have increased 238% between the beginning of February to the end of April, and over a quarter of cyberattacks in 2020 have been targeted at either financial or healthcare organisations. By giving your employees the information and resources on cybersecurity and cyber threats, you not only help them, but protect your organisation.

Of course, these measures can’t prevent every cyberattack. For example, vulnerabilities in new tools and platforms, such as those used for conferencing, can pose a serious threat to organisations. But neither can organisations survive at this time without simple ways to connect and collaborate. Just like with any other third-party, it is essential to continuously monitor the cybersecurity and compliance status of these new tools. Platforms like CyDesk can be particularly helpful with this, collating your cyber, compliance and business risk into one, easy-to-read dashboard. If your tools have a vulnerability, take note of how they react to it. If they patch it quickly and efficiently, it may be worth sticking with them instead of switching to and onboarding a new third-party.

Ultimately, hackers are taking advantage of this time of confusion, as evidenced by the discovery of various susceptibilities and admissions of hacks. Make sure to take some time to properly engage with your cybersecurity strategy and your employees to mitigate the effects of this stressful time.