Cybercrime In A Post-Pandemic World

The Coronavirus crisis has changed the world as we know it. With social distancing, lockdowns, and work from home becoming the new normal, cybercriminals are exploiting the situation. They’re attacking unguarded businesses and successfully executing phishing attacks on employees.

Corporate security is an often-overlooked aspect of your business. Many people operate from home on their computers, which means that you should take specific steps to make sure your employees are safe and secure.

It is important to prepare for the post-pandemic world now because the threat doesn’t only come from the spread of illnesses. It will also be driven by cybercriminals who can make huge sums of money by hacking personal and medical records which are full of valuable information on us and selling them to scammers hoping to take our money and identities.

This blog will help you understand how cybercrime is likely to develop in the post-pandemic world and how you can protect your business from these threats.

Why is the rate of cybercrime increasing in the post-pandemic world?

One of the reasons for a sudden spike in cybercrime is the work-from-home model that is increasingly becoming the norm. When you allow remote access to your data, you are virtually opening your IT infrastructure to criminals–unless you have the right security measures in place.

It is easy for malware and hackers to get into your system and corrupt it unless you have the right measures in place. Today, there are multiple ways that can allow logical as well as physical access to your network. Whether we are talking about your employees, customers, or third-party contractors you should never give them total access to your servers.

Even though it is tempting to believe that people who work from home will work harder because they work from home, this trend should be discouraged due to security risks. Even if such a practice allows a company to lower its operational costs drastically, it carries a lot of danger of information losses and security breaches.

Information technology experts urge that security concerns remain at the forefront when considering work-at-home models or mobile workspaces. The era of virtual offices and work-from-home have made it increasingly urgent to have a secure business network. A corporate firewall is one way you can protect your infrastructure — no matter where you are in the world.

Most experts agree that cybercrime is here to stay, and will only become increasingly more prevalent in the coming years. There’s no doubt that this issue is a growing concern. That said, there are other areas of crime that are drawing increased attention—and increased efforts from governments and law enforcement agencies around the world—such as terrorism, human trafficking, and child abuse. Cybercrime may be an important issue, but it needs to be approached with the same level of concern and commitment as any other major form of crime worldwide.

How can you protect your business from cybercrime when you work from home?

One of the most common tasks employees do while they’re at work is to work remotely. If you’re not sure what this entails, here’s the short version: instead of coming into the office and working, employees do their work where they’re comfortable — and that’s at home! This means that there are more opportunities for breaches and cyber attacks than ever before.

So, you think your office is saving a lot of money using a virtual workforce but is now being hit with the reality of the security risk these workers present? We get it. It can be confusing. On one hand, you have a remote workforce which is leading to lower overhead costs from not having a physical office. On the other hand, you don’t have near the oversight or control which can lead to security concerns about sensitive data. This is why we created our new model for how a business should be getting work done.

Are you thinking about outsourcing your company’s data center to save on overhead costs and start cutting corners? Then make sure you think it through before doing so because you could end up putting your confidential information at risk.

The Coronavirus scare has opened up a heated debate on the merits of a work-from-home policy. Many companies have taken the position that they would not rethink their existing corporate model, but some have reconsidered their stance and have expressed serious thoughts of modifying their traditional work-from-the-office model to a work-from-home one. The whole situation has made it clear that there are benefits to this model.

Here are measures you can take to prevent cybercrimes while working at home in a post-pandemic world

Carefully analyze your threats
Make data security a team effort
Use strong passwords to prevent unauthorized access
Secure your network with virtual private networks (VPNs)
Encrypt data and protect it in transit
Implement smart mobile-device management policies
Invest in robust cybersecurity software (and keep it up to date)
Get cyber liability insurance for peace of mind

Takeaway: By making yourself a small expert on cybercrime you can help protect your business from it.

Cybercrime has unfortunately been a fact of life post-pandemic. What’s more, the difficulty involved in tracing cybercrimes makes attempting to apprehend hackers and bring them to justice all the more difficult for law enforcement agencies. And if the rate of cybercrime is increasing as a result of these difficulties, then it’s likely that the problem will become more widespread. If this happens, though, we can be sure that new methods of tracking cybercriminals will be developed to help put a stop to it. In the end, better protections are coming; we just need to be patient and let them happen.

As more and more sensitive information—your personally identifiable information, financial data, company intellectual property—is shared online, the risks of it being compromised will also rise. Every business needs to have a plan for dealing with cybercrime because if it doesn’t your business could be at risk. What is your small business doing to protect itself?

Telligens Technologies LLC is one of the leading Managed Service Providers in Cerritos, California. Need help in developing a cybersecurity plan for this business in this post-pandemic world? Schedule an appointment at www.telligens.com