Page 78 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for September 2020

The “New Normal” – Navigating Remote Work and

Security in the COVID-19 Era

By Bill Delisi, CEO of GOFBA

There are many “new normal” that apply to different parts of life and certain industries. For cybersecurity,
a core change to the landscape is the impacts of remote work and security issues both during and after
the COVID-19 era.

Unfortunately, the willingness of SMBs to encourage remote work, conflicts with a general lack of
preparedness among staff and security teams for the related cybersecurity challenges. According to a
June 2020 study from IBM, which found among other issues that “more than 50% of respondents don't
know of any new company policies related to customer data handling, password management and more.”

To rectify the vulnerabilities that come with remote work, SMBs need to increase training and mandate
the usage of the proper tech tools. Here are some other considerations.

Phish, Vish, and Smish – The Need for Training

Phishing schemes continue to wreak havoc during COVID-19, as hackers consistently prey on people’s
fears. During the early days of the pandemic, there was a rush of scams about COVID-19 testing, or fake

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2020 Edition 78
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