EC News DeskGaping holes in online security measures has resulted in more than 726 million cyberattacks launched from online resources this year. As 375,000 new types of malwares are detected daily, experts are warning that darker, more extreme attacks could be on the way if firms don’t take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their devices properly.
That’s according to new research from cyber security experts Kaspersky, who warned that the Covid-19 outbreak could lead to the destabilising of the online world. With the pandemic meaning that millions of employees and students are now following government advice to work from home, with 46% of people never having done so before, the research has revealed a world that is woefully under prepared when it comes to protecting devices from the threat of cyber hackers.
The results of the study showed huge gaping holes in security measures, with half of employees working from home on personal devices and not having or knowing what their security policy is to ward against potential attacks. What’s more three-quarters of workers, 75%, say that they have had zero IT security awareness training since they switched from office working to remote working overnight. As a result of these lax measures, it’s perhaps unsurprising that one in four workers, 27%, say they received malicious emails related to Covid-19 while working from home.
The potential for the spread of such attacks could be catastrophic. Loss of data and loss of intelligence could have huge implications for businesses and ultimately threaten their whole ecosystem. And with hackers becoming increasingly savvier, security experts are working around the clock to mitigate these attacks.
As such, businesses encouraging staff to work remotely are being urged to check their corporate network. Businesses are being warned that the surge of users relying on online resources and virtual private network connections creates extra pressure on networks, detracts focus of IT teams from security and allows cybercriminals the perfect opportunity to exploit insecure connections and intercept important data from users and the institutions they work for.
Many of us take for granted the systems and security our workplaces, schools or colleges have in place to protect us and our colleagues from cybercrime, but how many of us know what steps we can take as individuals to ensure we’re safe from hackers while working from home?
