Coronavirus: Run away from the disease that took us by surprise, but continue protecting your company's data

When the WHO declared COVID-19 (new coronavirus) as a pandemic and with more and more countries having registered an increase in the number of infected people, new measures were taken, such as quarantine in extremely affected areas, and the paralysis of several types of services. In Brazil, to avoid more cases of infection, various activities were suspended, such as classes in schools, face-to-face activities at universities, and some businesses were paralyzed.

In addition, several companies decided to safeguard their employees in order to implement the forced home office, that is, they asked all employees to work directly from their homes. However, how can this relate to their cyber security?

Forced home office: why does this practice require care?

First of all, the forced home office ends up bringing greater risks for employees and entrepreneurs if not done in a safe and responsible way. This is because, for the first time, several companies have released accesses that have never been remotely released before, which increases the chances of attacks or data leakage by those who do not have a proactive and safe behavior towards this work. In addition, several people are having to carry their notebooks or tablets to go to work at home, or even at the home of friends or family, which can generate future problems, both in the transportation process and in working together with other people who do not belong to the same company.

Therefore, some measures and care are necessary during this home office period, especially when we think about our cyber security, in order to reduce possible headaches that the lack of care or the misuse of certain services can cause. So, learn what risks this kind of work can cause and how to protect your personal safety and that of the company, contributing to a safe and productive home office.

As mentioned, the forced home office can cause several threats if not carried out responsibly. Check here some risks that can be found in the midst of this work practice:

• Connections on unsafe networks, which causes risk of malware infection or hacking.

• Leaving the computer unlocked inside when living with more people, with the threat of divulging confidential information such as customer data and new company services.

• Leaving information exposed on the table when living with more people, such as post-its with credentials for company services, customer data or even passwords to different logins.

• Talking about confidential company matters with other people, especially regarding customers, new services, policies and new products. 

• Access confidential company data and services with computers that are also used for personal activities, which may be contaminated with viruses or other malicious software. 

• Fall into social engineering scams, with malicious people who may impersonate someone in your company or some boss (attack called impersonation).

• Being a victim of phishing, especially about services that cannot be done or confirmed personally because of the pandemic, through banners that promise miraculous cures or through e-mails that contain attachments with indications of prevention against VOCID-19 (criminals can resort to everything in these times).

• Fall into hoax type viruses, mainly through rumors and false links that promise information about the coronavirus. 

• Using the company's notebook for personal purposes in order to infect it when accessing pirate movie sites, for example. 

• Leave the bluetooth of the connected devices, generating security holes for hackers.

• Not having changed the default password of the wi-fi router, which leaves the network vulnerable.
  
  

What to do with all that?

As you can see, the risks that the home office can cause if not used consciously are huge and numerous, which can generate different consequences, from loss of credibility with clients to financial loss. Thus, it is important that we learn how to protect ourselves from threats, thus avoiding possible setbacks, especially at a delicate moment like this, when ill-intentioned people do not measure efforts to take advantage of our vulnerabilities.

Learn some measures you can take to avoid risks and protect both your integrity and that of your company by behaving responsibly, proactively and conscientiously with regard to cyber security:

1. Change the wi-fi router password to one that is strong and unique and do not share it with anyone else. Also, change the password frequently, thus avoiding the risk of invasions or infections.

2. Always leave the screen of your computer, cell phone, or tablet locked by a password or PIN and enable automatic screen locking when the device is idle.

3. Acquire the habit of a clean desk, leaving your desk, desk or office free of information that could compromise you and your company in post-its, whiteboards, blackboards, letters, etc. Also, dispose of confidential papers properly so that you can use the paper shredder or rip the papers into very small pieces if you don't have a shredder.

4. Never talk about confidential company matters with other people so that this information can be disclosed or used against you.

5. Do not use the company's notebook or tablet for personal activities and limit yourself to websites and online services that you already know and know are safe, which prevents virus infection.

6. Always keep your browser, antivirus, firewall, operating system and applications up to date as they fix security breaches.

7. Be aware of the details of emails you receive, check the sender, observe the content of the email (does it appeal to your sense of urgency or fear?) and notice if it has links or attachments. If possible, confirm receipt of the email by phone, that is, call the sender before doing anything. 

8. Never download unknown attachments or click on banners/pop-ups that promise cures, free products or new information about coronavirus or any other subject.

9. Do not pass confidential information over the phone and prefer means of communication that are restricted to company employees, which avoids impersonation-style attacks.

10. Never access pirated movie sites, either on your personal or corporate computer. On your personal computer, prefer official streaming services, which have no risk of transmitting trojans or other types of viruses.

11. When not using it, leave the bluetooth of your devices off.

12. Activate two-factor authentication in all services that allow this configuration.

13. Never pass your credentials, logins and passwords to anyone, even those who claim to be from your company.

14. Type the links you need to access manually, always check if the URL is written correctly and observe if the site has a green lock, which indicates that it has HTTPS.

15. If possible, prefer communication services that have encryption.

CONCLUSION: GAMIFICATION AND CYBER-SECURITY CULTURE

With the new coronavirus pandemic, it has never been more necessary to worry about cyber security, especially since so many people are at home, which increases the time they spend on their computers, tablets and cell phones, and because so many employees and businessmen perform the forced home office, a type of service that, as seen in this article, requires special care to avoid risks.

Thus, a good way to prevent threats and avoid problems is to improve the company's cyber-security awareness services, not only bringing temporary solutions, but also implementing a whole culture of cyber-security among all its members.

One of the best ways to achieve this goal and avoid losses for your company is gamification, which, through challenges and proactivity of employees and collaborators, allows a healthy competition in order to generate continuous benefits and avoid future problems for the company.

Therefore, start your trial now with Hacker Rangers, a 100% gamification platform, and implement the culture of cyber security in your company, in order to avoid the risks and threats that misinformation can cause, especially in times of coronavirus, where people, if not aware, can cause enormous losses through the unsafe use of the home office.

Production: Perallis Security Content Creation Team