The year 2020 has left many people feeling like we are living in the twilight zone as the coronavirus sweeps the globe, changing life as most know it. From embracing the reality of a fully remote workforce, to dealing with ruthless cyber attackers taking advantage of unsuspecting people looking for help, and like all things, technology is playing a pivotal role in the way the pandemic plays out.
As we’re actively in the throes of COVID-19, it’s understandable that workers and employees are uneasy about their safety and security on the job. Here are 10 steps employers need to take to keep your workplace safe in the face of a public health emergency.
The consistent rise in Insider Threat-related incidents has led to a growing focus and investment in proactively detecting these threats. According to reports, 60% of organizations discovered one or more insider attacks last year, and 90% admitted that they felt vulnerable to insider attacks. Reports also show that it takes an average of over two months to contain an insider attack.
Employees are both the biggest asset of a company and also the biggest risk factor. Forensic software is designed to provide visibility when malicious or incompetent employee behavior is suspected that could present a threat to the company. Trying to gather proof of these issues manually is both time consuming and high risk. If you tip off the staff member, they can cover the tracks, and you may never know what was done.
With recent worldwide epidemic scares, many companies are asking their employees to work from home as much as possible. Statistics show that even without an imminent threat from illnesses like the coronavirus, companies would do well to prepare for the ever-increasing proportion of employees who work remotely. According to an analysis by Flexjobs and Global Workplace Analytics, there has been a significant upward trend in the number of people who now work remotely in the United States.
Like a trail of evidence criminals may leave behind after committing a crime; almost every digital activity leaves virtual fingerprints. Even when culprits attempt to delete evidence and cover their tracks, with the right methods, evidence, can be recovered.
Workforce management, often shortened to simply WFM, is about managing staff schedules and services within companies. Workforce management software incorporates most software that focuses on managing and simplifying the process of scheduling staff work hours as well as managing their work and productivity. Managing large amounts of staff members turns into a massive task for human resources teams if they have to do everything manually.
The FBI recently reported that in 2019, cybercrime cost businesses $3.5 billion, a number they say is likely grossly underestimated. Another study from Accenture that spanned 11 countries across 16 industries found that the complexity of attacks is also increasing. As a result, the average cost of cybercrime for an organization grew from $1.4 million to $13.0 million.
The threats from data theft and fraud will continue to be a significant concern for all corporate entities in 2020. eCommerce sales, for example, are expected to reach almost one trillion dollars in the next three years, creating a growing opportunity for attackers to capitalize on fraud. A Juniper Research Report regarding online payment fraud trends estimated that digital card, not present fraud (CNP), one of several fraud categories, will reach $130 billion by 2023.
At the end of 2019, Security Intelligence released a report on trends that should influence your security planning for 2020. Near the top of the list was the need for visibility, alignment, and analytics when it comes to cybersecurity. Leaders are coming to terms with the idea that being able to see, understand, and have reliable records of what users are doing with their corporate assets can provide valuable insights when trying to reduce cybersecurity risks within your organization.
