Cyber attacks today are getting more elaborate with so many different forms and quantities. That’s especially true with Covid-19 period when phishing news pretends to be official announcements, confusing numerous viewers.
Cyber security issues originate from the pandemic
In a survey conducted by Tessian, nearly 47% of workers in the computer field have clicked on a phishing email at work and average cost of a data breach from remote working reached as much as $137,000. Cybercriminals see the virus as a chance to carry out criminal activities by taking advantage of the susceptibility of employees working from home and leveraging on people’s significant interest in coronavirus-related news, such as malicious websites posing as trusted organizations (magazines, news press) or individuals.
The IC3 received 847,376 internet crime reports in total, a 7% increase over 2020 but an astonishing 81 percent increase over 2019, owing primarily to the COVID epidemic. And it is the main character of nearly 16.5 million threats and attacks according to a report from Trend Micro, a cybersecurity company. Over 20% of cyberattacks employed previously unknown malware or tactics prior to the epidemic, but that number surged to 35% during the pandemic.
How do we prevent Covid-19 cyberthreats?
Cyberattacks abound in numbers and types. Middleman attack, a cyber intruder who disrupts traffic and steals data; DoS attacks, denial of service overloads resources and bandwidth to disable the system; and SQL injection means an attacker uses SQL to inject malicious code into a server. Not to mention cross-site scripting, rootkits, password attack and the like. Therefore, we might as well pay attention to cyberattacks as a whole but also watch out the new Covid-19 related cybercrimes. So, how to prevent cyber crimes? Following procedures are meant to prepare for the worst for you.
Audit cybersecurity regularly. Conduct regular cybersecurity audits on network vulnerabilities, operation, system and data risks that companies face. In this way the companies know thoroughly likely threats and match with actions.
Update and patch software system. The system itself can be an entrance to criminal activities cyber criminals because of its loopholes. This is the very reason why system vendors provide regular updates for customers-to defend ever-changing cyber attacks.
Install Next-Generation Firewalls. A Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a cyber security device with capabilities beyond typical stateful firewalls. Malware, ransomware and SQL injection can be prevented through NGFW. It also detects and denies system intrusions according to known attacks.
Backup critical data. A comprehensive backup plan saves your business data from the embarrassment of data stealing, misplacing or compromising. The cybercriminals don’t always return data after ransomware payment. And it can sever the business continuity. To establish an effective BDR plan, a vmware backup virtual machine with comprehensive backup and restore functionalities can usually help on that.
Use strong passwords with multi-factor authentication. Passwords are easily overlooked by corporations when it comes to cybersecurity. Using strong passwords with combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters for different accounts still matters and should be updated periodically. Multi-factor authentication needs different forms of identification to gain access to the website or system involved. They can prevent unwanted users from visiting.
Get cyber security insurance. Cyber insurance reduces losses from incidents like data theft and breaches, DDoS attacks, hacks and ransom demands. It covers a wide range of cyber risks and cleans up the ensuing mess such as customer reparations, legal defense and other expenditures. But cyber risk insurance should complement the other ways as part of a cybersecurity system.
To wrap up
Cyberattacks tend to be more complex and diverse as time changes. Especially as pandemic spreads, its new forms come to the fore. However, with strong IT infrastructures, overall cybersecurity plans and precaution measures, those threats can be eliminated and even prevented. So, prepare now or you could be caught off guard when accidents occur.
Determine how much evidence you’re willing to provide. If you’re ready to accept a certain level of data loss, you can choose an exact frequency. Make sure you label all of your backups. Finding and storing your backups in a secure area will be a simple once you’ve named them all. This is crucial for two reasons.
Finally, Vinchin Backup & Recovery gives you the flexibility to configure the vmware backup tool, including the transmission method. Whether you wish to safeguard data through LAN, LAN-Free, or HotAdd, the process is simple and straightforward. You can click here for a 60-days free trial.
