We had briefly mentioned cybersecurity as a potential issue in one of our last blog posts (which discussed the trend of more people working from home), but considering the enormous risk that it poses to businesses at the moment we thought it was worth going into a bit more detail.
As we reported previously, cyber-attacks tend to go up dramatically during an economic crisis (or any crisis, really). This is primarily due to two reasons: 1. Cyber criminals try to take advantage of vulnerable users who may be acting and thinking less rationally than in normal circumstances, especially when they are accessing systems through unstable home networks.
2. Companies tend to slash their security funding during an economic crisis in an effort to control spending. On the first point – there is a tendency to think of cybersecurity as a problem which is beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals who aren’t versed in the languages of Python, Javascript and C#, and we forget that in fact the most vulnerable point in any technical system is the human being sitting at the keyboard. In reality, it’s us tech dummies who need to be keeping the most vigilant during these times, and nowhere is this truer than in the teleworking space.
This doesn’t mean enrolling in an open university course for computer programming (although you may have the spare time to do that right now!) but simply educating yourself and your team on security risks and how to develop good security habits will reduce the rate of attacks immensely. Images like this can give you a good head start:
Source: vPnMentor
Unfortunately in a lot of cases there’s not an awful lot you can do about the company cutting their security spending during an economic downturn, but it is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Just be aware that by choosing to cut down on security there’s an incredibly high risk that you’ll be wide open to all kinds of cybercrime – and this might end up costing you more than the money you saved.
It’s scary to think of the enormous economic impact a global cyberattack during COVID-19 would have (considering how heavily we are all relying on the internet and our devices for, well, pretty much everything), so it’s critical to have a plan in place in case (god forbid) this does happen.
Call me on 0417 160 120 or email allan@crisisshield.com.au for a chat on how we can help prepare and protect your business to survive for better times ahead.