Page 32 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for July 2020

7 Security Precautions to Protect Remote Workers

By Marty Puranik, President & CEO, Atlantic.Net

The COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed the world's population, crippled global economies, and changed
the way of life for almost every single person in every single country around the world. Nearly six million
infection cases have been confirmed. Over two million people have recovered, but over 350,000 deaths
have been registered so far, and sadly this figure is expected to grow substantially in the coming days
and weeks.

Governments around the world have encouraged employees to work from home wherever possible.
Frontline key workers are still required to continue their occupations but unfortunately, many millions
have lost their jobs, and tens of millions have been furloughed on government financial aid.

Currently, there is an enormous workforce engaged and actively working from home, keeping businesses
alive in one of the biggest challenges to face a generation. Some reporters are referring to this shift in
working behavior as the greatest work-from-home experiment.

With this paradigm shift of working behavior, additional risks and security concerns must be considered
to protect organizations from things like wire transfer fraud, ransomware, and exploitation. There is a vast
amount of evidence to suggest that cybercriminals are out in force to take advantage of the COVID-19
pandemic.

The most common attack vectors seen in recent weeks are targeted and extensive phishing email
campaigns and spoofing using SMS and mobile communications platforms such as WhatsApp.

Cyber Defense eMagazine –July 2020 Edition 32
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