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Is What’s Lurking in Your Network About to Come Out?
The COVID-19 crisis was an unprecedented opportunity for attackers. Now, many may be ready to
strike.
By Carolyn Crandall, Chief Deception Officer, Attivo Networks
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countless millions of people to work remotely, and the rush to enable
that remote work created opportunities for attackers to infiltrate corporate networks due to new devices,
unmanaged endpoints, security gaps, and other issues. Now that the initial adjustment period is over,
some businesses believe that the imminent danger has passed because they have yet to experience an
attack. Unfortunately, this may not be the case. There is reason to believe that attackers may be hiding
under the surface, lurking in corporate networks, and preparing to emerge and do damage. We will likely
soon see new attacks as attackers begin to make their demands known.
Why Now?
Recent studies show that dwell time—the period that attackers spend inside the network before
detection—is now just under 60 days for incidents discovered externally, though this can expand into
months or even years for more advanced attacks. As the COVID-19 lockdown pushes past its third month,
Cyber Defense eMagazine – August 2020 Edition 30
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