Safe surfing in the sea of telecommuting: 10 key cyberthreats

With the rise of remote working, catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic, cybersecurity has become critical for businesses. While telecommuting offers work flexibility and cost savings, it also introduces a number of cybersecurity risks that need to be addressed. In this article, we'll explore the 10 most common cyberthreats that remote employees can face.

The main cyber threats: from deception to failure to update

The list of threats includes: phishing attacks, where cybercriminals use deceptive techniques to trick employees into revealing sensitive information; connections to public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks, which lack encryption and are easy targets for hackers; the use of weak or easily guessable passwords; the use of personal devices that are unsafe for work; the absence of two-factor authentication, which increases the risk of unauthorized access to employee accounts.

Additional risks and possible solutions

Other risks include: unprotected file sharing, which can expose sensitive data to unauthorized parties; social engineering attacks, which exploit human psychology to manipulate employees; downloading software or files from untrusted sources, which can lead to the spread of malware; failure to install security updates and patches in a timely manner, leaving employees exposed to known vulnerabilities.

The threat from within and the importance of training

Finally, another category of risk concerns insider threats, caused by employees, both intentionally and unintentionally. For example, an employee could handle data inappropriately, share confidential information, or abuse their access privileges. It is imperative that you implement stringent access controls, monitor systems, and provide appropriate cybersecurity training to mitigate these risks.