Digital dangers lurk as remote working increases

Remote working, under the extraordinary conditions created by the coronavirus, can provide significant flexibility to workers and businesses, yet the dangers that lurk are significant, putting corporate and public cybersecurity systems to the test.

Private and public businesses and organizations have rushed to adopt teleworking without being adequately prepared. They are trying to understand and integrate challenges in real-time under difficult conditions, with some becoming easy prey to cybercriminals.

Sources say that in recent days violations have been reported by companies where hackers attempted to pry open holes in systems, exploiting security gaps created by remote work.

Additionally, cybercriminals exploit the virus by including malicious software in documents that refer to the disease, in a bid to exploit the spike in teleworking in any particular way.

Greece's Digital Governance Ministry and the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post stated in relevant guidelines that 'there has recently been an increase in activity in emails with alleged material about Covid-19 coronaviruses that contain malware. Users are urged to pay close attention to any message that refers to Covid-19 in its title or content."

According to research from EY, increased reliance on digital technologies and teleworking has potential threats and that protecting systems should be based on eight key points aimed at ensuring business continuity and building trust.

One of these key areas, according to the research, is the evaluation of cybersecurity systems and ensuring the maximum degree of protection against cyberattacks.
Additional steps involve setting up a central crisis management team, as well as regularly reviewing emergency procedures and business continuity action plans. EY goes on to add that an estimated 79 percent of businesses are not adequately prepared to handle an unforeseen and sudden crisis.

Teleworking also increases the chances of an attack being launched against a business's digital assets. ESET points out that employees can take action to help prevent this such as changing home router settings, check whether any unknown devices are accessing your home networks and use a VPN network to encrypt communication messages.