The COVID-19 pandemic has inarguably changed work practices as we know them. With a shift towards working from home, Australians are becoming increasingly reliant on the Internet everyday. Now more than ever, it is important you know how to protect yourself and your business from cyber attacks. KnowBe4 is here to help with just that.
Cybersecurity is essential to any functioning small business. However, it tends to get overlooked or underestimated. This even truer with the coronavirus pandemic forcing businesses to shift their employees to remote work. When your business is juggling everything from connecting employees remotely to maintaining team morale, a small slip up is bound to happen.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC)’s 2020 Small Business Survey found 80% of SMBs believed it was important to invest in cybersecurity, but few had the resources nor time to properly address it. Some barriers to implementing good cybersecurity practices include lack of planning for incidents and underestimating risks. These make it even easier for scammers to target small businesses.
The last year has seen a dramatic increase in coronavirus related cyberattacks that prey on peoples’ fear and panic. Jacqueline Jayne, KnowBe4 APAC’s Security Awareness Advocate believes cybersecurity education and awareness are essential for any business. Especially when employees themselves are a line of defence against online attacks. With employees removed from the office environment, cybersecurity may appear as a secondary concern. Jacqueline flags three key reasons why the shift to remote working has become even more important to company security:
WFH employees aren’t thinking about organisational security
Whilst your average employee juggles homeschooling their kids, adapting their living room to a home office and trying to adapt to new online communication channels – cybersecurity is the last thing on their mind. So, you cannot expect them to be constantly blocking cyber attacks or monitoring unusual emails.
Cyberattacks focus on employees as targets now more than ever
Phishing, aka the infamous “your account is in danger, please log-in” emails, are the single-most common online attacks. These emails give cybercriminals access to everything from company data to user credentials. A successful data breach will prey on vulnerable points of your business and most likely land in your employees’ inbox.
Attacks and scams are increasingly aligning with remote working
Cybercriminals conjure up scams that seem familiar to users, so do not be surprised when they adapt to the changing environment. With many workplaces integrating Zoom for meetings, there has been a visible growth in Zoom-related cyberattacks. Scammers are a lot smarter than you think and can easily fly under your radar.
Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4’s CEO comments, “Social media may seem like a simple way to share information and connect with others, but people need to realise that it’s also an easy way for the bad guys to gather information to launch a social engineering attack.” One wrong click is all it takes for your personal information to fall into the hands of cyberattackers.
In support of Cyber Security Awareness Month this October, KnowBe4 is offering a free cybersecurity course for business owners to protect against phishers and scams. The course, “Social Media: Staying Secure in a Connected World” will help Australians to learn how to identify and avoid social engineering attacks. Participants will walk away with a number of tips on how to protect themselves and their organisations from all kinds of growing threats.
Aside from participating in cybersecurity workshops to keep your knowledge up to date, it is important to practice caution online. Jacqueline recommends these five tips for staying safe when using the Internet:
#1: Stop and think
Emails with “quickly”, “hurry now” and “urgent” can sometimes put you in a panic. Phishing emails that warn your account may be compromised and urge you to login can seem frighteningly realistic. However, it is best to take a step back and think before you engage. If the emails are asking you to click on a link, open an attachment or share your login details, check whether you know the sender first and question their legitimacy.
#2: Treat all emails with caution
An inbox can contain thousands of hidden scams. So, when it comes to email, treat everything as a potential threat and do not engage with anything unexpected. When in doubt, have a quick search of the sender’s website and phone number to ensure they are the real deal.
#3: Screen friend requests
Although it is a given to only add your friends on social media, beware of unknown accounts that request to friend or follow you on social media. The bad guys will use social media to target unsuspecting victims, so if you do not know the requester, it is best to delete the request.
#4: Consistently review your privacy & security settings
Terms and conditions are constantly changing sometimes it is hard to keep up with what you are signing up to. To ensure your privacy is set, make sure you are constantly reviewing your security settings on all the social networking apps and sites you use. A check every few months is a little price to pay for a guarantee of up-to-date security.
#5: Think again before sharing
What goes on the Internet, stays on the Internet. This saying still holds true today with photos from the last decade still lurking online. Always think twice before you post. There are no undo buttons once it is published.
In support of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, KnowBe4’s cybersecurity course is free for the whole month of October. Find out more.
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