In times of crisis, it’s normal for people to feel off-balance and rely less on reason and more on emotion when making decisions. The pandemic is a crisis for just about everyone, given that so many people are experiencing illness, the illness of a loved one, the stress of losing a job, financial concerns, the need to educate children while working full-time, or simply fear of what might happen next.
Therefore, cooler heads may not always prevail when workers are confronted with scams. For example, a harried dad working from home while supervising his child’s online learning may accidentally click a link in an email message phone number list from an unknown sender. Causing malignant software to be loaded onto his company-network-connected computer. Thus compromising the entire company.
Cybercriminals understand such vulnerabilities and are only too willing to take advantage of them and promote topics (such as phony coronavirus cures or get rich quick schemes) they know people are more willing to pursue in these troubling times.
Those who work from home may be additionally vulnerable to such attempts if they haven’t received proper training in online security.
Less IT Support
IT teams may be stretched very thin as they try to mitigate these challenges. The list in the next section includes just some of the things these professionals may be dealing with at work. Meanwhile. They may be working at home themselves and facing some of the same personal issues as their peers in other departments.
That means non-IT WFH employees might consequences of poor communication in project management try to serve as their own IT staff. The results could be positive or negative. Depending on the skill set of each worker. Worst-case scenarios include performing faulty hardware or software installations and failing to follow basic cybersecurity hygiene (see #1 below). Either of which could lead to cyber intrusions that could go unnoticed or unaddressed due to lack of knowledge.
Take Extra Precautions
Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to lessen the impact of these issues. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Train WFH employees on the importance of cybersecurity, what can happen when it’s breached, and what they can do to support it. Measures include:
- Using strong passwords, especially on home routers
- Keeping security software and other applications up to date
- Not clicking links in emails from unknown senders
- Checking with the company’s IT department before accepting “help” from anyone claiming to be from that team
- Within the company network. Update patches more frequently. Especially for critical systems, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and cloud interfaces.
- Be more vigilant about verifying employee identity. Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure added protection.
- Devote as much IT attention as possible to getting WFH workers set up securely with up-to-date equipment and approved applications.
- If your company provides an online qatar data platform, especially one that delivers basic services, shore up the network to address security concerns and accommodate higher than usual volumes.
- Provide resources for employees to access when they become overwhelmed or need mental health care.
- Revisit emergency response protocols to ensure you have robust planning in place for worst-case scenarios.