Cybercriminals continue to exploit vulnerabilities created by the COVID-19 crisis. At the beginning of the pandemic, the FBI issued a stark warning of increased cybercrime activity, including fake CDC emails, phishing scams, and ransomware disguised as health advisories. Less oversight and fewer security defenses, plus the heightened level of collective anxiety, means people are more likely to fall prey to social engineering scams.
It is critical to take two sets of actions. First, upgrade your security protocols for the new work-from-home dynamics. Second, assess your organizational readiness to defend against cyberthreats along three lines of defense: systems/software, processes, and (often most important and overlooked) human performance. Measuring your company’s alignment with the behaviors of High Reliability Cybersecurity Operations (HRCO) allows you to identify vulnerabilities due to human performance and develop new lines of defense.
Take these “no-regrets” actions to upgrade your security protocols:
Assess your organizational readiness to defend against cyberthreats and identify gaps—then implement mitigation and human performance improvement actions. WP&C’s online tool, Yardstyck, helps leaders:
Adopting HRCO principles now will provide a critical boost to cybersecurity at this time of unprecedented vulnerability and lay a strong foundation for post-crisis cybersecurity.