CYBER SECURITY IN PANDEMIC TIMES

 

With the rise of the pandemic Covid-19 from the early months of 2020, the whole world is adopting a new norm of working online, let that be business community or academic community. The world is compelled to carry out the day to day lives online, making information the most valuable and precious asset than any other time in the history. The work from home approach, the companies adopted has led for many cyber-attacks. This turn of events has brought more weight to the security of information stored and transmitted in cyber space. Thus, comes the topic of cyber security under the lime light, shining brighter than ever before.

What is Cyber Security?

According to Cisco, Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes. It would definitely sound unbelievable if one is to say that there has been as many as 726 million cyber-attacks from the start of the year, 2020. It seems as if the cyber criminals are determined to make money more than ever before out of the global trouble of Covid -19 according to 2020 Verizon Data Breach investigations report which states that 86% of this year’s breaches were driven by financial gain.

Some of the Attacks of 2020

The cyber attackers have become more innovative setting new trends in phishing, cryptojacking, ransomware attack and IoT attacks.  Among the biggest cyber attacks so far taken place in year 2020 are: Software AG Ransomware Attack, Sopra Steria Ransomware Attack, Telegram Hijack, Seyfarth Shaw Malware Attack and Carnival Corporation Data Breach.

Software AG, the second largest software vendor in Germany has been hit by Clop ransomware and the cyber-criminal gang has demanded more than $20 million ransom in October 2020. Sopra Steria, the French IT service company was reportedly attacked by a new version of the Ryuk ransomware which was previously unknown to cyber security providers. Hackers gained access to Telegram messenger and email data of some big names in the cryptocurrency business in September 2020. An “aggressive malware” attack was aimed on the Chicago based leading global legal firm, Seyfarth Shaw LLP in October 2020. The world’s largest cruise line operator, Carnival Corporation reported a data breach due to a ransomware attack that took place in the month of August 2020.

Prevention is Better than Cure

As it goes in the famous saying “prevention is better than cure”, it is vital to take adequate measures to improve network security and prevent cyber-attacks. A well-planned strategy in protecting data from cyber vulnerabilities, sure comes in handy at these desperate times. Among the key aspects of such a strategy can be: Enabling a multi-factor authentication process, having robust internal controls in place, taking measures to manage third party cyber risk, educating employees on cybersecurity, creating data backups, having systems kept updated and installing and updating antivirus software frequently. These strategies can be of significant aid in securing business networks and preventing cybersecurity threats.

It is unknown to the entire world as to when the prevailing global pandemic would be gone and when can our lives go back to normal. But it is quite predictable that even after the pandemic, the new norm of working from home would stick around given its many beneficial attributes. So, it would be the smartest act for businesses to take cybersecurity with much more gravity so that the business networks are secure and business flow is intact.  

References

https://www.metacompliance.com/blog/5-examples-of-security-breaches-in-2020/

https://enterprise.verizon.com/resources/reports/dbir/

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/what-is-cybersecurity.html

https://securityboulevard.com/2020/10/5-biggest-cyber-attacks-of-2020-so-far/

https://www.osibeyond.com/blog/7-methods-to-prevent-cyber-attacks/

 

 

Comments

  1. Dulanga KithminiNovember 16, 2020 at 11:37 PM

    In an era of technology, it is very hard to get rid of cyber attacks completely since people use multiple smart devices which already pose risks. So as you have mentioned, taking measures to prevent such attacks is the best thing we can do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Prabod_DunuwilaNovember 17, 2020 at 7:11 PM

    It is a timely and an important topic. Good work, keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KaweeNovember 19, 2020 at 10:19 AM

    Valid topic that is applicable to all stakeholders in the WFH culture

    ReplyDelete

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