The Pandemic’s Effect on Online Safety

Since COVID-19, the FBI has reported a 300% increase in reported cybercrimes. While organizations have been fairly prepared to handle a work from home model from a device and collaboration perspective, there has been a strain on cybersecurity.

cybersecurity professionals have seen a dramatic increase in their workloads and 48% say that working remotely has impacted their team’s ability to support cybersecurity initiatives.

Additionally, Gartner released a new estimate that cybersecurity spending will not increase as much as previously expected. Instead of the 8.7% growth expected at the end of 2019, information security spending is expected to grow by only 2.4% in 2020. While work from home tools like video conferencing and cloud computing are growing at an exponential rate, the market is not sharing the same outlook for cybersecurity investments.

The pandemic has impacted every aspect of a business’s working culture. Remote work has become the new norm, and companies have massively accelerated their digital transformation timeline. However, security measures must not be overlooked in the process as this new remote work model heightens risks.

For example, social engineered cyber threats are on the rise. Similar to the hack at Twitter, several other large companies have fallen victim to socially engineered phishing scams. Hackers have more opportunities than ever to exploit technology gaps, and they are doing so at an increasing rate. In fact, cybersecurity researches are seeing upwards of 4,000 coronavirus-related cyber-attacks per week.

Is your organization prepared?

While large names like Twitter, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Magellan Health are in the news for their recent data breaches, that does not mean small and medium-sized businesses are not at risk. Last year, over 50% of small businesses were attacked by hackers attempting to infiltrate their systems. Cyber-attacks come in many shapes and forms. Ransomware attacks, where hackers hold your computer data or network hostage until a ransom is paid, have had a dramatic increase in success rates since the start of the global pandemic as have phishing attempts across industries and company size.

COVID-19 is going to have lasting effects as many companies have announced new work from home policies and continue to make technology investments. It is vital that every organization invest in the right cybersecurity practices to protect company data and personnel.

Middleground Technologies can help ensure your company is protected. Don’t become another statistic, and schedule a complimentary audit today!