Without a doubt, 2020 was dominated by the pandemic, affecting how we live and work. The sudden mass migration to remote working brought a slew on issues from the increase in video conferencing affecting internet bandwidth to the many issues with cybersecurity that arose from employees using their own devices at home for work.
As experts are now making predictions for the IT landscape in 2021, it appears that remote working will not be going away soon, and even post-pandemic, many people will not be returning to the office on a full-time basis.
However, remote working brings a number of cybersecurity risks that need to be addressed, not at least providing adequate training for employees. Computing.co.uk reported that some firms have sent fake phishing emails to staff to see who is easily tricked into falling for it.
Those culprits are then directed to a web page that warns them of the dangers, followed by an invite for further training. Some firms have advocated for repeat offenders to be handed over to HR for disciplinary measures, to drive home the message that security is everyone’s concern, not solely that of the IT support and services.
But many firms are still not prepared or equipped to deal with cyberattacks, despite the massive increase in cyber criminality over the year, often from a lack of understanding of the risks involved, leaving them vulnerable to social engineering tactics and other common methods.
To help businesses defend themselves from cyberattacks, here are some recommendations.
Start with best practices. Organisations should start with the following measures:
- Uniform implementation of basic security measures;
- Increased transparency;
- Standardisation and coordination of cybersecurity requirements;
- Cybersecurity awareness training for employees;
- Prevention and response plans.
Implement basic security measures. Another place to start is with basic measures. Multi-factor authentication and backups are essential and go a long way toward reducing many of the losses from cybercrime.
Communicate properly within the organisation. Communication of a cyber incident across a business and the different relevant stakeholders is necessary if all the affected parties are to know what to expect and how to respond.
Cybersecurity training for employees. One of the biggest challenges is a lack of company-wide understanding of cyber risk. According to a recent report from McAfee, a lack of user knowledge has largely contributed to the success of cyberattacks. This has become more of an issue as employees use personal devices that expose vulnerabilities.
Streamline security tools. Large organisations use an average of 47 different cybersecurity tools, sourced from around 10 different vendors, according to the report. That can create interoperability issues and impact the effectiveness of the products.
Elaborate prevention and response plans. With many respondents admitting that they have no plan or no effective plan in place to prevent and respond to cyberattacks, this is an area for improvement. Without a proper plan, an organisation hit by an attack is left floundering as it tries to decide how to react to and mitigate the problem.
If your company needs IT support in Doncaster, talk to our team today
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