The stress placed upon cybersecurity activities in many firms is captured in a new (ISC)2 COVID-19 Cybersecurity Pulse Survey. This survey, Enterprise Times finds, reveals that around half of security professionals have been taken off security duties to assist with IT-related tasks despite attacks during the pandemic doubling.
Looking at the issue for Digital Journal, Evgeny Gnedin, Head of Information Security Analytics at Positive Technologies, states: “ISC(2) have revealed that cyber incidents have doubled, which has inevitably led to increased cyber crime. ” This has been exacerbated by many workers operating from home.
In terms of how IT departments can address this issue, Gnedin explains as not every cybersecurity issue can be addressed through home working. To add to this, there is the complication of additional work pressures being placed upon staff.
This means new focal points, according to Gnedin: “This makes it important to perform patch management and install the latest versions of software everywhere possible, both on remote workstations and corporate systems.”
In terms of some of the solutions, Gnedin outlines: “There is also increased use of remote access software…two-thirds of companies use it, including RAdmin, RDP, TeamViewer, and Ammyy Admin.” The danger is with many people from home not accessing such programs through secure mechanisms.
In terms of preventative strategies, Gnedin looks at what firms need to consider: “In order to avoid this, companies should install any relevant patches and standardise remote access software: select the program that works best, and then limit the rights of local users.”
