Protect Against These Online Scams Focused Around the COVID-19 Crisis
Are your employees well-versed on the potential scams that are headed their way with the COVID-19 crisis? Protect your company’s secure infrastructure by sharing this knowledge with staff.
Unfortunately, fake news isn’t the only thing you need to worry about when it comes to the current coronavirus crisis. Hackers are working overtime to gain access to your sensitive business and personal information, and they’re using your employees as the conduit into your secure networks. It only takes opening a single document or a quick click to unleash malware into your business systems, wreaking havoc throughout your company’s infrastructure. From ransomware to phishing attacks, see how cybercriminals are attempting to take advantage of the public’s concern with the COVID-19 outbreak — and how to protect your organization from becoming a statistic in the war against hackers.
Use Trusted Sources to Stay Informed
The public’s thirst for knowledge is unquenchable, particularly when news stories are moving as quickly as they are with the current health crisis. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of this need for more information by creating false news releases that appear to be from trusted organizations. Only a close review will show that these “helpful” messages are actually coming from hackers, and your staff members may not take the time to look too closely before clicking. Encourage employees, friends and family to navigate directly to trusted news agencies or the World Health Organization for information as opposed to clicking on emails or links from questionable sources.
Protect Against Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks
While it’s always good to follow email best-practices, it’s never been more important to ensure that your employees are taking these additional steps. Install an advanced firewall and look for web-based email filtering software that will help reduce the potentially fraudulent messages from reaching staff members at all. Anti-malware and antivirus software should be aggressively scrubbing all information coming into your organization, but you’ll still need to train employees to be wary of attachments coming from an unknown source. Social engineering attacks can be more difficult to spot, as they could appear like emails coming from an internal source. Add security tools to your network that will block malicious intruders while also automatically alerting network administrators of unusual activity on your network.
Beware Questionable Emails and SMS Text Messages
According to the Department of Homeland Security, cybercriminals are making an added push to get access to personal information by requesting responses via direct emails. You might also receive an SMS text message from what appears to be a legitimate government organization, encouraging you to stock up on supplies or requesting you to “Click here” to learn more about COVID-19 testing that is being performed in your area. You might also see advertisements for a miracle cure for this novel coronavirus, but you can be confident that these emails and text messages are from scammers looking for easy access to your personal or business information.
Protecting your organization in the face of these overwhelming attacks can certainly be a challenge, but it’s good to know that you are not alone. You can count on support from the IT security experts at Veltec Networks, San Jose’s #1 IT support and managed services provider. Our team is working tirelessly to ensure that our clients are fully protected against the emerging threats around the COVID-19 pandemic. No business is too small to be hacked, making a proactive approach to cybersecurity vital to your long-term success. Contact the Veltec Networks team at 408-809-0774 or via email to info@veltecnetworks.com to schedule your complimentary initial consultation.
