Coronavirus Scams

“…The FBI has warned of a significant spike in coronavirus scams adding to concerns about an unprecedented wave or cyber-attacks….”(Forbes). With cyber criminals not taking any time off during the current pandemic and many businesses having rapidly expanded their capacity and capability to enable a remote workforce, it is now timely to consolidate these technology, process, and personnel, changes to ensure an effective security position is maintained. If your organisation had some issues in flexing to meet the increased demand for remote access while also ensuring there were no departures from your standard security policies, then the below represents some pointers in addressing those departures and other risks as quickly as possible.

• Confirm with your internal and external technical teams that current needs are being met through an expansion of existing capacity and capability within already agreed to security ‘containers’

• Speak with your MSP to validate that their backend security processes and procedures have not been altered, downgraded, or ‘paused’ to meet increased customer demand from the pandemic

• Review your existing audit schedule and seek to reinstate any MSP audits or reviews as quickly as possible

• Remind staff that as they work remotely, they are at a greater risk to phishing and social engineering attacks including in their personal lives

• Review any operational changes to data exchange that may have cropped up to meet business need but are not managed or vetted such as various filesharing apps and personal email accounts

• As organisations unfortunately downsize due to the current economic situation and normal duties are spread over a reduced workforce it is important to ensure that each individual in your workforce has the rights they need to do their role (and nothing more). Be wary of allowing access rights to ‘snowball’ as remaining staff pick up the various duties of recently departed colleagues.

• Revise and re-issue policies around working from home, email security, acceptable use, and data management & exchange, so your team members are clear on expectations and the part they play in maintaining business security and ongoing viability.

Our world is going through an extraordinary health emergency and while there will be ongoing impacts to daily business operations, managing security in a timely and effective manner reduces risk and prepares your organisation for a better outcome as we navigate our way forward.

Please contact me directly on 0409285045 or owenflynn@zenitil.com.au If you would like to speak further on the steps above or how our other services can assist you during this time.