According to the latest research, most companies that switched to the remote working system during the quarantine period experienced security problems. Phishing attacks are the most common type of attack that employees are exposed to. Although the remote working system has increased cyberattacks, the results of the study show that most employees still prefer to work from home. So it won’t be easy to get employees to return to the office. Companies are very worried about bringing employees into the office every day of the week after quarantine. Here are the details of the increase in cyberattacks against employees during the quarantine.
1. What Do Experts Think About the Increase in Cyberattacks Against Employees During the Quarantine?
Cybersecurity experts advise companies to consider their employees’ needs because mostly wrong regulations cause security problems.
IT experts also agree with the employees. According to the study, most experts think that hybrid working environments will replace offices in the future. In fact, it is believed that the remote working system can be permanent. The hybrid working system means that employees can work in the office or anywhere they want, according to their own preferences. In other words, employees are free to choose the environment they want.
However, hybrid and remote operating systems also bring security problems. According to research, there is a serious increase in cyberattacks between March and July 2020. During this period, ransomware and phishing attacks were the most common method. Almost all companies have experienced a data breach or security problem.
2. What are the Reasons Behind the Increase in Cyberattacks Against Employees During the Quarantine?
One of the biggest reasons for the increase in attacks during the hybrid and remote working period is the employees’ mistakes. Most experts think threats from within caused the attacks. IT experts believe that employees are more likely to use their personal devices or share sensitive data while working from home. Most of the reported attacks were found to be caused by insider threats.
Employees are more irresponsible when working remotely because they think a wrong move will go unnoticed. Hackers often take advantage of this situation for their attacks. In this case, companies need to ensure that their employees work safely and efficiently, regardless of the working environment.
Hackers usually contact employees via e-mail. According to the study, 57% of people working remotely think that the e-mails they receive are reliable. Instant messaging and video conferencing tools are also often trusted. However, the number of malicious emails, which saw at most 50 thousand in recent years, reached almost 150 thousand in the past months.
Most of the employees stated that they received phishing emails while working on their personal devices. Most of them admitted that they thought the e-mail was trustworthy and clicked on links or attachments.
However, phishing remained the most popular attack method, and nearly half of the security problems were caused by phishing. After phishing attacks, the most common attack types were Voice phishing (Vishing) and SMS phishing (Smishing). 30% of ransomware attacks were also caused by phishing.
3. What Can We Do About the Increase in Cyberattacks Against Employees During the Quarantine?
Considering that the home-working model will be used for a long time, companies should definitely increase their measures. It is imperative that IT officials take sound and sustainable security measures and are implemented company-wide.
Check if your technological devices are working properly.
You should periodically check if you’re devices are working effectively to protect your systems. Together with our team, we aim to reduce phishing and ransomware attacks to zero by creating products suitable for your employees, business, and technology. Using our Email Gap Analysis tool, we mimic attacks targeting you via e-mail and regularly test your cybersecurity technology (such as firewalls, anti-spam, and anti-virus) with various simulations.
Use cybersecurity awareness programs to educate your employees.
Train your employees with our safety awareness training module that we have developed with the latest technology. In addition to security awareness training with our cybersecurity training tool, we also offer our users free of charge extra materials such as Posters, Screen Protectors, Cyber Security Bulletins, Anti-Phishing Security Tips, Ninjio Animation Training Videos, gamified security awareness training. It is now easy to increase the cybersecurity awareness of your employees.
“This post is originally published at www.phishing.org.uk”
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