Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we have discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. This week, we explore the data privacy challenges and concerns that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID-19, the world has witnessed the power of technology.

The increasing adoption of cloud applications and an expanding remote workforce are redefining network security. In a traditional setting, the emphasis was on perimeter-based security—assuming that everything behind the corporate firewall is safe. However, it’s clear that organizations have to rethink the philosophy of implicit trust in a corporate network.

The trend of working from home has hit the ground running, and businesses have turned to strategies and tools that will ensure a no-plummet productive environment. There are two major forks in the road when it comes to provisioning remote endpoints—users can use their own devices, or the company can hand over corporate-owned devices.

Malware attacks are evolving and once common tactics are becoming a thing of the past. Attack strategies, like using a third-party hacking program or injecting viruses from external sources, are almost obsolete as they leave a distinct footprint. Most antimalware tools can now detect the presence of a foreign program or device and immediately block them.

The novel COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way organizations work. The sudden transition to remote work has forced organizations to look for temporary fixes to bridge the gap, leaving their endpoints exposed to an unprecedented threat landscape. Insecure internet connections, a lack of perimeter security, and the inability to implement effective security policies have made remote endpoints a breeding ground for threat actors.

A majority of companies are moving towards a work-from-home model in an effort to reduce costs and improve operational agility. However, along with these advantages, a remote workforce brings up numerous security concerns. Download this e-book to learn how to secure your network and safely support a remote workforce.

While keeping data safe from modern cyberthreats is difficult enough, you also have to keep in mind compliance with common regulations, i.e., ensuring your company’s compliance to SOX, which deals with transparency in disclosures from public companies. Nowadays, it’s not enough for businesses to rely on dismissive financial documents that satisfy the intermittent audit; you need to level up your game, and create detailed day-to-day records of activities.

With a majority of the workforce now adopting a work-from-home routine, maintaining the normal functioning of your network and ensuring compliance with industry standards is not an easy job. When employees are working remotely, it is especially crucial to ensure network compliance with industry standards and internal policies to secure your network from cybersecurity breaches.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to force employees to work from home, businesses are facing new and unique challenges to ensure business continuity. When remote work is mandated due to COVID-19, the transition isn’t smooth for many businesses; not every business has the infrastructure to make the abrupt shift, even given the immediate need to go remote.

Email-based attacks can take many forms, and are typically deployed by cybercriminals in order to extort ransom or leak sensitive data. Just recently, a banking Trojan named Trickbot targeted Italy, a hotspot for COVID-19 cases, with email spam campaigns. While the email subject line is in line with the daily concerns and talks about spread of the virus, the attachment was actually a malicious script.