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Why Cybersecurity Is More Important During COVID-19 Than Ever

2020-11-30Editor

It would be fair to say 2020 has been a unique year for all the wrong reasons. As populations and economies have been ravaged by the effects of coronavirus, workforces around the world have been forced into home working, moving en masse from the traditional office to working over remote cloud services.

 

However, while technology certainly stepped up to meet the challenges posed by the virus, it has still left companies wide open to online crime and figures are coming to light exposing a disturbing rise in cybercriminal activity over the last year.

 

The worrying upward trend in cybercrime

To most people, it likely seems all the more sickening that individuals might attempt to benefit through a time of crisis but such is the mindset of criminals. Indeed, there is considerable evidence that suggests cybercrime has been rising steadily through the last year and recent research has found that nine out of 10 apparent COVID-19 sites are scams (there are now billions of unverified pages related to coronavirus). In dark times come equally dark risks making it all the more important you tie down your network security now.

 

Interpreting the statistics

As is always the case with online crime, the real statistics can be slow to trickle down. However, it’s been found that through March and April alone, brute force cyberattacks increased by 400% - largely caused by the number of new, unsecured systems and networks popping up in light of the virus. It’s thought that the number of computers running Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) jumped by 40% through the early part of the year, with the subsequent problems only now becoming clear. RDP leaves computers wide open to cybercriminals. Worse still, once a criminal breaks into the remote computer, they also gain direct access to your network with the potential to reap untold havoc.

 

Prevention is always the best protection

Prevention is always the best protection when it comes to securing your IT network. In these days of increased remote working, as well as educating your staff on basic online security, you should also look at enlisting the help of a specialist networking company. Firms like 24x7 IT Solutions will perform a full audit of your existing IT network – and can additionally advise on extra tools, software and security to further protect yourself, your network and your staff. 

 

The additional dangers posed by phishing and other email scams

The virus has caused all of us to drop our guard somewhat when it comes to the validity of emails, however, a recent report suggests that email scams increased 667% in March. Of course, this worrying trend likely continued throughout the rest of this year (probably increasing yet further) – but the data is slow to emerge.

 

Phishing scams attempt to persuade users to part with their credentials (i.e. username/password) by transferring the email recipient to an official-looking site. While phishing attacks have been one of the most prevalent types of cybercrime in recent years, through the pandemic, cybercriminals have started using particularly emotive text relating to the virus to provide an extra psychological urge to engage.

 

Cybercrime, in general, has been on the rise for many years but it seems through coronavirus it is becoming all the more prevalent. Through these troublesome times, you and your staff must be aware of the dangers and avoid taking unnecessary risks. Improving your security today will have significant benefits for tomorrow, so now is the time to start thinking about ways to improve your company’s online safety.

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