Cybersecurity During WFH: Secure Your Business from Cybercrimes

What is Cyber Security?

To put it simply, the practice of protecting your servers, computers, mobile devices, and other professional and personal data is called cyber security. The term can be used as an umbrella term and has distinct categories:

• Application Security: Focuses on protecting your devices' applications from threats like malware and other attacks
• Network Security: Involves securing an entire computer network
• Information Security: Protects your data's privacy either in transit or in storage

Other than these, there are many other categories that focus on specific cyber threats. Global cyber threats in 2019 alone amounted to a shocking 7.9 billion breaches and the numbers are only growing since the pandemic started. As per a survey conducted by Tenable, around 53% of business leaders are concerned about their organizations’ home network security and face challenges with employee security practices.

Companies related to medical services, public entities, and retailers are among the most targeted ones as they collect medical and financial data of their customers. However, there have been attacks on customer data and even corporate espionage indicating an urgent need to fight these cyber threats.

Why Cyber Security is Important for Your Business?

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have shifted to remote working or hybrid models. However, deployment of work from home has also increased the level of risk of a cyber attack. In last year alone, around 88% of Indian organisations experienced cyber-attacks impacting their business. 

Your organization’s personally identifiable information (PII), personal information, intellectual property data, and even protected health information is at risk because of cybercriminals.

Because of global connectivity and cloud services, sensitive data is always an inherent risk. With the widespread increase in sophisticated cyberattacks, business heads can no longer rely only on antiviruses and firewalls.

Each day, attackers deploy new ways of attacks with the help of artificial intelligence and social engineering on people who heavily rely on computers and mobile devices but are not aware of these threats. While governments all over the world are now focusing on cyber crimes, things cannot be left as they are.

What Can You Do to Secure Your Business during the Pandemic?

Due to urgent social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, most businesses opted for work from home to minimize their losses during these distressing times. However, 2020 only saw a higher number of cyber attacks in various forms. More than 50% of these targets were the employees working remotely who were not prepared for these tactics.

Here are some effective ways to ensure that your company and its important data is safe from cyber threats: 

• By implementing cybersecurity awareness programs in your organization. This can be done using computer-based training and phishing simulations
• With many employees opting for remote work, focusing on securing their work-from-home setup will considerably reduce security risks
• Ensure proper software and operating system updates on a regular basis so that any security patches are fixed timely
• With most businesses operating with cloud storage, opting for secure cloud computing will help eliminate the risks associated with data breaches
• Invest in good anti-virus software that will detect and eliminate security threats like malware, viruses, MitM Attacks, Trojans, and many more
• Upgrading IAM (Advanced Identity and Access Management) solutions of the organization will play a key role against cyber threats
• Avoid using un-secure networks, especially in public places. This is one of the most common ways through which malware is spread
• Consider implementing TPRM (third-party risk management) experts   as a part of your organization’s overall security risk management strategy
• Consider buying a cyber security insurance plan to avoid any impactful damage to your organization in terms of first-person and third-person liability

While all these options are pretty solid measures to reduce the threat of cybercrimes, the last option is the only safeguard that minimizes the loss caused by these threats. The benefits of cyber insurance are briefly covered in the next section.

How Does Cyber Security Insurance Help? 

One of the best ways to minimize your company's damages caused by cyber-attacks is to buy a cyber security insurance plan. The policy covers a wide range of liabilities related to network, business, and information assets. Some of the benefits offered are briefly mentioned below:

• Loss caused by E-theft because of fraudulent transferring of funds or assets due to a computer system or network breach
• Any loss due to an E-threat; the expense incurred in hiring a professional negotiator or any other payment made as an extortion
• Any additional expenses caused by E-business interruption
• Loss due to E-vandalism
• Expenses caused during crisis management by a public relations consultant (varying sub-limits)
• Covers disclosure liability which includes customer claims
• Covers any liability for claims in case of trademark, intellectual property, content, and more
• Provides reputational liability in case of claims arising due to libel, defamation, slander, third-person organizations and more

While these are only a handful of benefits offered, make sure to go carefully through their policy schedule so that you’re aware of all the things your policy offers or does not offer. Don’t forget to compare policies provided by different insurers before selecting the best insurance plan for your organization.