Teleworking and the security risks of freemium messaging apps Adam Such, President and Chief Operating Officer, Communication Security Group
Teleworking and the security risks of freemium messaging apps
COVID-19 is leading an ever-increasing proportion of the workforce to telecommute from home, and many of those employees are being pushed towards using freemium messaging apps for work related communications. With articles such as “A guide to use WhatsApp while working from home” in The Economic Times, and limited enterprise approved and managed alternatives, it’s doubtful this will change in the short-term. However, this trend should raise red flags for CTOs and IT departments around the world.
Cybercriminals exploit Coronavirus and remote working response Adam Such, President and Chief Operating Officer, Communication Security Group
Adam Such, President and Chief Operating Officer, Communication Security Group
Cybercriminals are capitalising on the Covid-19 driven move to work-from-home. Global authorities are urging businesses to be vigilant and do whatever they can to combat this threat. The FBI has issued a public service announcement stating “Scammers are leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic to steal your money, your personal information, or both. Don’t let them.”
In addition to issuing their own warning about the vulnerability of teleworking, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) cited the example of a hospital in the Czech Republic that reported a cyberattack which “forced the hospital to shut down its entire IT network, postpone urgent surgical interventions and re-route new acute patients to a nearby hospital.
Does your VPN policy reflect the new reality, and what risks do you face? Adam Such II, President and Chief Operating Officer, Communication Security Group Inc.
Adam Such II, President and Chief Operating Officer, Communication Security Group Inc.
Organizations across the US are at increasing risk from cyberattacks due to VPN vulnerabilities, according to The National Security Agency. With an unprecedented percentage of the workforce dialling in remotely due to the ongoing global health crisis, the NSA has issued an advisory warning focused on the importance of properly securing VPNs. The report states “VPNs are essential for enabling remote access and securely connecting remote sites, but without proper configuration, patch management, and hardening, VPNs are vulnerable to attack.” Their instructions include the reduction of the VPN gateway attack surface, ensuring cryptographic algorithms are Committee on National Security Systems Policy 15-compliant, and avo
Officials say no, nein and not for official use to WhatsApp Adam A. Such II, President and COO, Communication Security Group Inc.
Officials say no, nein and not for official use to WhatsApp
Despite all the official warnings and numerous articles highlighting security and privacy concerns, it seems governments around the world continue to unnecessarily expose themselves to risk by using freemium consumer messaging apps such as WhatsApp. The latest revelation came as Germany’s privacy commissioner Ulrich Kelber reminded federal ministries and institutions that use of WhatsApp was banned from official use, even in these difficult times presented by the worldwide health crisis.