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How Organizations Can Ramp Up Their Cybersecurity Efforts Right Now | 7wData

How Organizations Can Ramp Up Their Cybersecurity Efforts Right Now | 7wData

Prior to Covid-19, most companies perceived their worst-case cybersecurity scenario as a computer virus that would shut down company computer systems. In fact, just the opposite happened: a human virus has forced virtually entire workforces online, making companies more reliant than ever on their systems. The stakes of protecting those systems from a cyberattack could not be higher. In the words of the old American Express commercial: “What will you do? What will you do?”

Over the past several weeks, we’ve observed that cyberattacks have increased at a rate of three to five times compared to pre-Covid. phishing attempts have increased in both frequency and sophistication as threat actors seek to take advantage of the unusual circumstances under which nearly all of us are working. Scams focusing on treatments and cures for the novel coronavirus have been rampant — one recent operation by Interpol against fake Covid-19 “cure” sellers resulted in 121 arrests. Thousands of fraudulent coronavirus-themed websites are sprouting up per day. And Zoom, having skyrocketed in popularity, has experienced such a surge in videoconference hijacking that it has its own name, “Zoom-bombing.”

Once a cyberattack occurs, companies largely are on their own. They have to scramble to counteract the attack and ensure that the threat actor is out of the system. They then may have to navigate industry regulators, while also trying to steer clear of the dreaded post-breach class action suit.

What is a company to do?

Every company should have an up-to-date, written plan in the event of an attack. It should be crystal clear as to who is to do what, who you will call for outside assistance, what the lines and protocols on communication will be within the company (such as board notification). This will protect the company from the confusion and early mistakes that often are made and that waste precious time in a crisis.

In this environment, having a paper copy of the plan handy at home is also a good idea in the event of a systems breach. The chief privacy officer at one large financial institution recently told us that the last thing he did before he left the office for the quarantine was to grab a paper copy of the company’s incident response plan.

Make sure all employees are aware of the most current scams and that your information security program has prepared a defense. Right now, the most ubiquitous is the “business email interruption” scam, where Office 365 or Gmail accounts are hacked via a phishing email. If an employee clicks on a bogus link, the cybercriminal has complete access to their inbox and can download malware onto their system. Sophisticated threat actors will most often target senior leadership or those with payment authority. By studying the contents of the particular inbox, the hacker is then able to gin up a very convincing fraudulent invoice purporting to be from a legitimate vendor, with changed wiring instructions so that the money is diverted to the hacker’s account and not to the legitimate recipient.

While most of these attacks are “smash and grab” attempts to divert funds, in recent weeks, some criminals have focused instead on obtaining confidential company information — particularly with companies that may be working on breakthrough technology or cutting-edge health care products, sometimes for competitive purposes or sale on the dark web, among other things. With virtually all employees working remotely and the ordinary course of operations disrupted, this type of fraud is more likely to succeed, and the hackers know it.

Fortunately, there is a fairly effective tool to reduce the risk. Enabling MFA will stop all but the most sophisticated threat actors and it should be used on all accounts that are used by the company, not just administrative accounts. Remind employees to utilize MFA on their own devices as well.

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