Customise Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Expert reveals how to protect your business from COVID-19 Cyber-Attacks

An alarming number of users’ machines have now become compromised since working from home. Darren James, Specops Software’s cyber security expert, delves into the potential reasons for these rises, alongside tips for ensuring security safety across businesses: 

 

Compromised users’ machines could be due to several factors: 

  • Rapid deployment of non-company image devices – a lot of laptops have been purchased/rented as well as bringing personal devices permitted. Therefore, these devices have been deployed without having the corporate image installed, which means that the protections normally in place e.g. AV, Patching, Group Policy etc. will not be available. 
  • As people work from home their corporate devices might not be patched as frequently as when on the company network, hence exposing people to more recent threats. 
  • There has also been a large increase in COVID-19-related spam emails and texts which in turn will create a larger attack opportunity for the wider hacking community. 
  • Particularly in the BYOD scenario a device might be shared by other members of the family, therefore posing a greater risk of less IT-savvy users clicking on malicious links and downloading malicious software. 
  • In general, IT departments are not well prepared for mass remote working, meaning out of date remote access solutions are likely being used on a mass scale. 

How can organisations best deal with these sorts of threats? 

If the above scenarios have already occurred in your organisation, at the very least keep in contact with your workforce. You can also raise the profile of keeping the company safe from IT threats by considering the following: 

  • Keep employee devices up to date with the latest patches and AV solutions. 
  • Encourage employees against sharing their work device with other family members e.g. children. 
  • Make sure home Wi-Fi passwords are changed from the defaults. 
  • Ensure to power off devices when not in use. 

  

How should organisations adapt/change? 

Adapting to this “new normal” as fast as possible is important, to prevent future breaches and ensure success. 

Keep security at the forefront of all decisions by reviewing firewall rules, checking that your VPN protocols are secure, and introducing AppLocker policies to restrict what users can run under their accounts. You should also consider removing global and local admin rights on workstations. 

But crucially, don’t forget the basics! Maintain a good password policy, make sure your users’ passwords haven’t been compromised and check your logs for unusual activity. You should also consider introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for remote workers and look at ways of verifying users’ identities. 

Are we facing a cyber security pandemic? I believe that we are constantly in a cyber security pandemic; the current global crisis has just exacerbated it and provided opportunistic cyber criminals even more opportunity to prey on society and make a quick buck. 

 

For more information visit: specopssoft.com  

For more Technology and Business news follow i-invest Online. 

Latest

Europe’s CEOs offer positive outlook in latest EY survey

Growing optimism among Europe’s CEOs, and an acknowledgement...

New research reveals the young pioneers powering British commerce

Hot on the heels of its UK Unicorn report, Hurun recognises...

CEOs and world leaders to convene at Hampton Court Palace for pivotal sustainable transition summit

Summit will set out the economic case for a transition to sustainable...

Siemens boosting U.S. investments by more than $10bn

Siemens is ramping up investments in the U.S. to support and benefit...

Subscribe To Our Content

Don't miss

Europe’s CEOs offer positive outlook in latest EY survey

Growing optimism among Europe’s CEOs, and an acknowledgement...

New research reveals the young pioneers powering British commerce

Hot on the heels of its UK Unicorn report, Hurun recognises...

CEOs and world leaders to convene at Hampton Court Palace for pivotal sustainable transition summit

Summit will set out the economic case for a transition to sustainable...

Siemens boosting U.S. investments by more than $10bn

Siemens is ramping up investments in the U.S. to support and benefit...

PitchBook announces 2024 Global League Table Awards winners

PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets...

Europe’s CEOs offer positive outlook in latest EY survey

Growing optimism among Europe’s CEOs, and an acknowledgement...

New research reveals the young pioneers powering British commerce

Hot on the heels of its UK Unicorn report, Hurun recognises...

CEOs and world leaders to convene at Hampton Court Palace for pivotal sustainable transition summit

Summit will set out the economic case for a transition to sustainable...

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here