As countries around the world struggle to contain the spread of the deadly pandemic, cyber criminals are wasting no time trying to exploit potential vulnerabilities resulting from the lockdown that has confined most people to working remotely, with relatively less secure devices.
Cyber security company Kaspersky Lab reported a major spike in network attacks in South Africa between 15 and 21 March, with hackers attacking up to 310 000 devices during that one-week period – an alarming increase over the normal weekly average of 20 000 to 30 000.
In a digital world, with billions of people and even more devices connected to the Internet via private, public and corporate networks, cyber security has become a priority concern. T-Systems estimates that the world will see 50 billion connected IOT-devices by this year. In addition, to flatten the pandemic curve, governments globally continue to implement lockdown and social distancing, forcing much larger percentages of the workforce to connect remotely. Lockdown will leave a lasting impact on how we work, and requires a complete revision of how corporations view and address cyber risks.
Share