Five security-threats of a remote workforce

Business transformation due to the pandemic is a security risk. We have to readjust procedures, practices and policies to adapt and thrive regardless of the pandemic's gravity. Time is not a luxury that we can afford and therefore the speed of change poses security threats as we move our businesses to a remote workforce.

The first security-threat is email scams. With such an immediate change, employees will not be wary of unexpected calls and email access requests. Employees will not know what to expect. The risks are exacerbated by the lack of security controls and the sharing of files by email.

Weakened security controls for remote employees are also a common security threat. With a remote workforce, there will be a lack of existing layers of cybersecurity. Employees will use their home Wi-Fi without an internet proxy. Thus, valuable information can be compromised by potentially unsecured networks or compromised devices.

Next, there can be an attack on the remote-working infrastructure that companies have set up. Since companies will be deploying VPN gateways and expanding their internet-facing perimeter, the security teams should be on alert for server-side and DDoS attacks.

The sudden remote transition will also create an opportunity for malicious insiders to steal data from the company. The company's data are at risk with a lack of security monitoring. This situation is a godsend for possible attackers that can easily take a company's data over USB within their home's comfort.

Finally, there is also a traditional threat that we need to be vigilant of during the pandemic: phishing. Attackers make use of fear during the Covid-19 pandemic to trick users into clicking malicious links and downloads. Some of these scams will attack your computers and retrieve sensitive data, including your company's valuable information.

Robust cybersecurity is extremely crucial for remote working. In these unprecedented circumstances, businesses have to invest in multiple security layers to protect their companies' information from possible attackers.