Hybrid/Remote Work Security Archives - Page 2 of 2

Make Hybrid Work Environments Secure

litechsol on September 14, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented shift in the way people work. Although most companies relied on a fully remote work model initially, the vaccine rollout has led to the popularization of hybrid work environments. A hybrid work environment has elements of both the traditional on-site work model and the remote work model. Employees can choose to work from home, at the office or a combination of both.

Hybrid environments have certain advantages such as:

Employee happiness

Hybrid environments help boost employee morale since there is opportunity for collaboration with colleagues at the office as well as working remotely.

Better productivity

The flexibility provided by the hybrid work model helps employees focus on their work when they are at their most productive. In a survey by Microsoft, 82% of business leaders reported good productivity when flexible work schedules were adopted.

Reduced costs

Companies no longer need to provide office spaces for their entire workforce at once and employees need not commute daily to their offices. It helps reduce costs significantly.

Better protection against the pandemic

Although vaccination is encouraged the world over, the World Health Organization has suggested that everyone follow measures like social distancing for an extended period of time. Keeping this in mind, a hybrid environment certainly ticks all the boxes.

On the flip side, hybrid work environments do have their share of disadvantages as well. Of these, heightened cyber risks need immediate focus.

The Problem and the Solution

Flexible work locations lead to cyberattacks and associated pitfalls like data loss because many endpoints operate outside of the secure corporate perimeter. That is why 88% of businesses believe it is vital to secure remote work tools and protect customer or employee data in the distributed work environment. This puts the responsibility on the companies to protect their digital assets through regular software updates, proper password management, robust data backups and business continuity solutions, continual employee training, etc.

Hence, asset management is imperative for the diagnostics and mitigation of vulnerabilities and threats. Keeping a tab of all software and hardware your business possesses can be an ideal first step towards successfully managing digital assets. It should not just be a one-dimensional process of noting down the model number, serial number, location, etc. Asset management for security and data breach protection related to hybrid environments needs an in-depth set of inventories. For this, there should be a clear picture of the operating system, the patch levels, the configurations and even the state of known vulnerabilities.

Asset management provides a firm foundation for risk assessment of your business’ hybrid work environment. Risk assessment helps you identify:

- Internal and external vulnerabilities in your business.
- Threats to the business’ data, systems, software, cloud, and networks.
- Consequences/impact if the threats exploit vulnerabilities.
- Possibility of harm that may eventually unfold.

Regular Risk Assessment Offers the Following Benefits to Your Business

Identifying your risk profile:

Detecting threats and sorting risks based on their potential for harm help you focus your efforts on urgent pain points.

Protecting your digital assets:

Risk assessment helps you determine ways to protect your critical assets and vital data in the distributed work environment.

Reduce security spending:

Regular risk assessments help you reduce security spending because you know where you need to allocate funds to ramp up security.

Actionable analytics:

Availability of information that gives enough insights into the future helps you take adequate actions to improve your business’ security.

Keeps you compliant:

When you handle your business assets and data securely through regular assessments, you can save your business from a regulatory violation.

The Decision Is Yours!

If you have read this far, chances are you are looking for ways to plug security loopholes that arise from hybrid work environments. Although risk assessment and asset management can help you address, reduce or avoid security challenges, you may be confused about where to start.

By collaborating with a partner like us and making use of our expertise in risk assessment and asset management, you can prevent vulnerabilities from escalating into full-blown disasters.

Article curated and used by permission.

Sources:

Building resilience & maintaining innovation in a hybrid world, Microsoft
Accelerating Digital Agility, Cisco

Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels

Global Impact of Cybercrime: What Every Business Needs to Know

litechsol on August 9, 2021

Cybersecurity companies are having a banner year on Wall Street, and why not? Deadly threats to business are popping up almost daily, threatening people’s lives and income. The global impact of cybercrime requires a business to understand the emerging trends of cybersecurity.

Cybercrimes’ threat to business costs the global economy over $445 billion each year, while intellectual property theft exceeds $160 billion. Threats against small businesses are alarming. One in five fall victim to cybercrime, and of those, 60% are out of business in 6 months.

Cybercriminals went on a crime spree during the pandemic and have taken advantage of the world’s dependence on technology.

Li Tech Solutions (516) 210-6400

Will the Constant Threat of Cyberattack Ever End?

What began as a small network for scientists and researchers a few short decades ago has turned into an $8 trillion behemoth connecting over 3.5 billion people. The internet has become an essential aspect of people’s lives around the globe.

Businesses of every size rely more on the internet than ever before. Data and connectivity are the lifeblood of small businesses. The internet allows the smallest firms in remote locations to have a global impact.

As networks expand and new technologies come online, cybercrime is expected to grow. According to Cisco Umbrella’s 2021 Cybersecurity Trends, the statistics are alarming. These numbers are from Cisco devices and services that process over 620 billion internet requests daily.

86% of organizations had at least one user try to connect to a phishing site.
70% of users were served malicious browser ads.
69% experienced some form of unsolicited crypto mining offer.
50% of every organization encountered some ransomware activity.
48% found information-stealing malware activity on their network.

Li Tech Solutions (516) 210-6400

A majority of experts queried on “Why are businesses so vulnerable to cyberattack?” The single gravest answer – Human Error!

Businesses are vulnerable and have the most to lose. In the latest round of ransomware attacks, the cybercriminals target large infrastructure companies with a lot to lose if their operations were interrupted. They are holding companies hostage.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report for 2020, email scams reported to the bureau accounted for most of the damage to businesses. The FBI’s report described several devastating scams, such as the BEC/AEC email hoax, which dealt with the fraudulent transfer of funds.

Cybercriminals gained access to business accounts through social engineering techniques and direct computer intrusion.

Cyberattack

Small businesses with limited resources are lucrative targets for cybercriminals seeking credit card numbers, bank accounts, and employee financial data. Smaller companies tend to have weaker security measures because more transactions are online via the cloud. Small businesses generally ignore the dangers and impact of cybercrime in favor of daily profit.

Cyberattack Methods:

Hacking: email and system hacking are the two of the most common methods for cybercriminals to gain access and manipulate company information.
Phishing: Unsuspecting employees pass along personal and sensitive information to fraudulent websites.
Social Engineering: employee trust is built with fraudulent interaction to gather more information.
Malware: malicious software is increasingly more effective and dangerous as employees do not recognize the threat.
Keylogging: software tracks employee keystrokes and is dangerous because some anti-virus programs cannot detect the threat.
Identity Theft: stealing an employee’s personal information and using it to commit fraud is becoming easier for cybercriminals.

So much has been written about cybersecurity, it is becoming difficult for individuals and businesses to know how to proceed. The single best step a business can take, partner with Li Tech Solutions and let them guide you in the right direction.

Li Tech features five modules that can help a small business have a global impact.

Callout 2- Blurred background-Title: Protect Your Business- with four bullet points

Protect Your Business

Understand evolving risks and emerging trends of cyber-security and be prepared for the vulnerabilities in your business. Know what is valuable to a cyber-criminal; credit cards, asset accounts, intellectual property.

Develop a security plan; no matter how big or small your business is, the best offense is a good defense. Make sure every digital protocol is covered when making your plan. Cover the routine actions employees perform daily, like data backups. Include newer technologies that impact your operation, such as social media and cloud computing.

Keep hardware, software, and security protocols up to date. Li Tech Solutions can be a big help.

Educate your employees on the impact of cybercrime. Every piece of advice written about cybersecurity includes some form of educating an employee. Mainly because employees are the single most significant leak a company can have, IT staff and management should not be the only ones concerned about cybersecurity.

Securing Your Remote Workers

litechsol on July 27, 2021

Over the last few years, we have seen several tech companies, such as Buffer, Todoist, and Help Scout, to name a few, switch to a fully remote or partial work setup. Most of these companies spent months preparing for the switch by training their employees, setting up remote work policies, and ensuring the necessary infrastructure was in place to deal with cybersecurity threats.

However, many companies were forced to make the switch overnight when COVID-19 hit. Very few got the chance to fully prepare themselves, which left them more vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches. And this is exactly what cybercriminals are capitalizing on.

According to the FBI, daily cybersecurity complaints increased from 1,000 to 4,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. With DDoS, Malspam, ransomware, and phishing attacks on the rise, failing to secure your remote workers makes you a sitting duck for cyberattacks.

Risks and Consequences of Not Updating Your Security Protocols and Training Programs

For starters, your existing protocols and training programs were created in a pre-pandemic world. However, things have since changed drastically. Now, employees access critical company data through connections and devices that are beyond your control, making your company more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats than ever.

Failure to update company security protocols and training programs could lead to the following consequences:

Employee inaction and dip in morale: If you don’t train your remote workers to identify or deal with new types of security threats, they may feel helpless or indecisive in the face of an attack. Moreover, being in a remote setting, they may find it hard to ask for support.

Hampering of business growth: Cyberattacks hamper your credibility and reputation in the market. This can make it challenging to acquire new customers or retain existing ones because they don’t trust you with their information.

Business paralysis: There has been a massive rise in DDoS attacks over the last few months. And such attacks typically lead to website downtime, increased vulnerability, and disruption of business operations.

Compromise of crucial business information: If you fail to defend yourself, cybercriminals may end up getting away with everything from confidential client data, patents, sales information, business plans, and much more.

Financial implications: 2020 has seen a 109 percent spike in ransomware attacks in the United States. But paying the ransom is not the sole financial implication. A breach could see you lose money, your clients’ financial details, your reputation, and much more.

Legal sanctions: If you fail to adequately protect yourself against cyberattacks, you could face everything from consumer lawsuits, hefty fines, and sanctions, to even a business shutdown.

The Future of IT Solutions: What to Expect in 2024 and Beyond

How Can You Secure Your Remote Workers?

To protect your company against cyberattacks and data breaches, you need to constantly evolve and grow to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. The moment you lower your guard, there’s every chance a nefarious cybercriminal will look to exploit any vulnerabilities. And with most of your employees working remotely, it won’t take much to breach your defenses. In fact, all it could take is a password shared publicly on a team chat app, an accidental click on a phishing link, or confidential company information accessed through a public Wi-Fi connection.

This is why you need to have a new IT Policy in place that directly addresses remote workforce requirements. Apart from that, you must ensure all employees receive additional security training.

Personal device security: If your company allows employees to work using their personal devices, it is your responsibility to ensure they are of a minimum standard. You must clearly define what is permissible and what is not — the type of devices, operating systems, applications, and websites that can be accessed.

Besides that, give your employees a list of all security, remote access, VPN, and other tools they need to install before they start. Your employees should also be aware of the level of access/control you have over their devices, the type of technical support you can provide, and the company’s right to wipe/alter the devices.

Network security: Public Wi-Fi and home Wi-Fi networks are nowhere near as secure as the LAN connection in your office. That’s why you must enforce minimum-security standards to ensure employees don’t put company data at risk. Define everything from Wi-Fi encryption standards, Wi-Fi password difficulty, network security software, router safety guidelines, and the types of devices that can be connected to the same network.

Also, the use of public Wi-Fi must be actively discouraged. In case an employee has no other alternative, give them a list of essential safety guidelines that they need to follow — secure connection, WPA3 compliance, websites to avoid, and so on.

Cybersecurity training programs: Due to this sudden migration to a remote work setup, IT teams in most organizations are stretched beyond their limits. They have to take care of support requests and make sure data and digital assets are safe and secure. This is why you need to make sure your employees get adequate cybersecurity training and are equipped to deal with common and emerging cyberthreats.

The training program must include everything from password management, using multifactor authentication, identifying phishing and ransomware attacks, guarding personal devices against cyberattacks, operating/updating security software, configuring Wi-Fi, setting up VPNs, email usage, reporting/responding to cyberattacks, and much more.

Time to Strengthen Your First Line of Defense

Cybercrime is on the rise across the world. The ongoing economic downturn is only going to make things worse. That’s why you need to ensure everyone in your organization has their guard up at all times.

To find out how you can secure your remote workers and your company’s IT infrastructure, contact LITech Solutions today.

Data Sources:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-says-cybercrime-reports-quadrupled-during-covid-19-pandemic/
Nexusguard Q2 2020 Threat Report
2020 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report