The COVID-19 pandemic has created many security challenges that will persist long after the crisis ends. As time passes, it appears that work-from-home will become more permanent. Couple that with rushed digital transformation projects and inflamed security vulnerabilities that if not addressed quickly will lead to serious security and compliance problems. As we look to 2021, here are some challenges security teams must address:
- Prepare for health data breaches. The pandemic has caused an explosion of electronic health data – often collected and managed by organizations that have never had to before. This data includes everything from track-and-trace to temperature checks, test results and barcodes showing immunity. Some companies now ask employees to provide health data for themselves and their family members. This raises some important security questions: What happens to all this data once the pandemic passes and it’s no longer needed? Will companies destroy the data? Or will it sit in a database somewhere on the cloud just waiting for the hackers? Companies need to make sure they have the proper people, processes and technology in place to protect their data.
- Stay vigilant for social engineering attacks and insider threats. In our daily cyber reconnaissance work, we’ve seen an increase in overall attacks related to COVID-19. These attacks will only rise, especially when it comes to social engineering attacks and insider threats. For example, a social engineering attack could escalate when an individual who claims they know someone has tested positive for the virus and then gives that person instructions, which could include revealing personal sensitive data...
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