9 Tips to Protect Your Remote Workforce from Phishing Attacks

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to switch to remote working, businesses are facing security and data privacy risks now that their employees are working from home.

While hackers have used a variety of illegal tools to take advantage of companies’ vulnerabilities, phishing is among the most common fraudulent activities during the coronavirus pandemic. Phishing refers to sending emails or text messages purporting to be from credible sources or reputable companies to trick the recipient into providing their personal information, including passwords and credit card numbers.

These emails and texts look legitimate, which is why employees may fall for them while working from home during the coronavirus crisis. In fact, remote workplaces during the pandemic are even more vulnerable to phishing because many companies were unprepared for the sudden switch to remote working.

How to Protect Your Remote Workforce from Phishing Scams and Cyberattacks 

Since phishing has become a serious cybersecurity threat during the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are encouraged to revise their work-from-home policies and implement additional protocols and training to make sure that their employees are able to identify and respond to phishing scams and other fraudulent attempts.

Identifying a Phishing Attack 

1. Train your employees to double-check links and hyperlinks before clicking on them and looking up phone numbers before dialing any suspicious number.
2. Prohibit your employees from downloading or opening suspicious content while using a company’s VPN to secure connection to the office network.
3. Create a protocol that would require your workers to forward any suspicious emails to the IT department before clicking or responding.
4. Train your employees to confirm the sender’s authenticity and identity if they receive an email claiming to be someone within the company requesting personal information or access to the company’s network.
   

Responding to Phishing Scams 

1. Regularly back up company data to be able to restore it quickly if a phishing attack successfully compromises your network and data.
2. Equip your servers and computers with the latest security software. This might require you to invest in tools that would protect your business from phishing scams.
3. Train your employees to ensure that everyone knows how to identify a phishing attack and knows how to deal with it. Training is essential, particularly during unprecedented times such as these.
4. When a phishing attack occurs, it usually targets more than one person in a company. Thus, an employee who identifies a phishing scam must notify their supervisor, who, in turn, would warn other workers to keep an eye on similar scams.
5. Create a protocol for when an employee falls for a phishing scam, which compromises your company’s data. You must immediately change compromised passwords and disconnect from the network or device that has been the source of the attack.

Speak with our West Palm Beach business and consumer fraud attorneys to help you protect your company from security and liability risks during or after the pandemic. Reach out to Pike & Lustig, LLP, to receive a consultation. Call at 561-291-8298.

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