The pandemic has completely changed the way we live, from the way we socialize to the way we work. As many of us spend much more time online from home, criminals quickly adapted our tactics, creating a host of new scams that companies need to be more aware of given the large number of employees still working. from distance. The threat to businesses is also compounded by the fact that many employees access work files and information from home on work and personal devices.
Who are the main targets of scammers and why?
Surprisingly, the younger generation has experienced more scams. Our research found that digital natives are more likely to have been scammed, even though they are generally smarter online than previous generations. Statistics showed us that 60% of respondents aged 16-24 had been scammed online. This compares to 6 in 10 baby boomers who say they have never been scammed. This generation gap can be attributed to the fact that the younger generation spends significantly more time online, with criminals targeting popular online activities such as shopping (46%), streaming (16%), and banking (15%). ). Social media also continues to pose a risk, with far greater numbers of younger generations using these sites to keep up with friends and family. This generation is also more likely to use social media to connect with third-party sites, with 41% of Millennials using social media to do so. However, three in ten rarely check their security settings on social platforms, increasing the chances of being scammed online.What can companies do to protect employees who use work devices to access personal accounts?
With so many employees working remotely, businesses now face the expanded threat surface that comes with a pervasive remote workforce. As a result, organizations must go beyond establishing basic protocols to create and maintain a secure environment. It's important for companies to educate their staff on best practices, such as reporting suspicious activity, considering whether a link is questionable, or thinking before accepting an invitation from a stranger to connect on LinkedIn. When you consider the potential impact on your bottom line if a cybercriminal gets past corporate defenses, it's clear that cybersecurity should be a top priority for all employees, including the C-suite. The CEO and broader management team need to set an example to help foster a cyber-aware culture. Beyond training and awareness, companies need to make sure they integrate the vital hygiene of cybersecurity into all their processes. For example, taking a shared responsibility approach to cloud and data security will help ensure that remote workers can be productive without compromising business information. Above all, good cybersecurity is important for more than just repelling attacks. When organizations succeed, it also helps unleash business growth through the confident adoption of innovative new technologies that will give the business a competitive advantage.With many companies moving to cloud-based collaboration, who is responsible for keeping company data safe?
As many companies embrace cloud-based collaboration to move from near-overnight work to remote work, companies need to recognize that protecting data in the cloud is a shared responsibility that doesn't just fall on end users. All stakeholders, from cloud service providers and enterprises to end users themselves, have a role to play in this advocacy on many levels. By adopting this collaborative approach, organizations can rest assured that they are taking a critical step toward addressing today's complex security challenges. COVID-19 campaigns often use pandemic-related topics including testing, treatment, remedies, and remote work topics to trick targets into clicking a malicious link, downloading a file, or viewing a PDF. . As a result, no industry is immune to cyberattacks using COVID as a hook. However, some industries have been more specific than others. In fact, the McAfee COVID-19 Threat Dashboard provides daily updates on the countries and industries most frequently targeted by detections of COVID-19-related malicious files. Currently, data shows that organizations in the telecommunications industry and the outsourcing and hosting industry are responsible for the majority of these attacks. This dashboard shows how important it is for companies across all industries to educate their staff on security best practices, giving them the ability to recognize suspicious activity and continue to work from home without becoming the weak link in the security chain.- Raj Samani, chief scientist and associate at McAfee.