ACS
Tackling cyber attacks at work and at home
T e eff ects of coronavirus have not gone unnoticed in the workplace. Back in March 2020, the majority of us packed up our desks and moved into our makeshift home offi ces, more than 9.9 million of us were furloughed and the latest statistics show that unemployment has increased to 1.69 million in the UK alone. T e way in which businesses quickly adapted to the pandemic left
security systems vulnerable to cyber attacks and criminal infi ltration. Here, we discuss the top fi ve cyber frauds you should be aware of in the current climate and the ways in which you can minimise the risks.
Increased risk of cyber attacks Cyber security and planned IT security improvement programmes have been put on hold whilst other operational challenges are prioritised. In addition to this, the increased use of remote access tools used by employees whilst working from home increases the risk of cyber attacks. Malicious cyber criminals can take advantage of this by:
- Targeting remote access systems with denial-of-service attacks, disrupting business operations, or attempting to extort money. -
Increasing phishing attacks.
- Corrupting home wifi networks and accessing IT systems via unsecure VPNs.
CEO fraud and impersonation fraud CEO fraud and impersonation fraud involve employees within an
Insider fraud Insider fraud occurs when a current or ex-employee, contractor or any other party who once had access to confidential data commits fraud by misusing the information, for example, by selling data to
organisation receiving emails seemingly from a senior executive, instructing the transfer of money to a cyber criminal’s account or requesting confi dential fi nancial information. T is may be carried out in one of two ways: - Name spoofi ng – uses the name of the CEO but a diff erent email address (which might look similar to the company’s email address). - Name and email spoofing – the CEO’s email address has been compromised and the attacker uses the CEO’s name and genuine email address.
It has also been known for fraudsters to pose as the company IT team through emails or calls to obtain passwords or enable malicious software to be downloaded onto IT systems. Our current working circumstances increase the risk of these types of fraud as more of us are working from home and this can be used as justifi cation for unusual and non- routine procedures and processes.
Fraud in the supply chain Rarely have supply chains faced pressure as immense as that brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. T is increased pressure can increase the risk of fraud in a variety of ways, including: - Reliance on new and alternative suppliers. - Lack of quality control and due diligence. - Risk of improper payments to ‘grease the wheels’.
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ALL THINGS BUSINESS
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