As the global remote workforce continues to grow in size, organizations should work to identify and eliminate the security risks that exist within their current networks and data environments. These potential threats stem from both internal and external sources, requiring a layered security procedure to fully mitigate the associated risk.
Organizations often default to a reactive approach to security measures, which can become incredibly costly and time-consuming due to the complexity of new hacking technologies. McAfee has estimated that nearly 300,000 new forms of malware are created each day, per WebARX, making it nearly impossible for support teams to fully understand the threat they are working to isolate in real-time.
By potentially exposing internal applications to phishing as well as attacks on security vulnerabilities, companies handling sensitive data such as personal identifiable information also risk litigation due to increasingly strict regulations regarding data protection and information privacy.
Organizations that lack the infrastructure to support a safe and effective network for their remote employees can adopt third-party security solutions that actively defend them against these threats without having to absorb the cost of creating, testing and implementing their own proprietary system.
Phishing
Corporate cyber threats often come in the form of phishing, the fraudulent practice of sending emails pretending to come from reputable sources to gain access to sensitive data. This technique exposes networks to malware by targeting individual employees, requiring extensive company-wide training on how to identify these attacks.
A study by Cybersecurity Insiders has revealed that COVID-19 served as a catalyst for an increase in network threats across industries as more employees are remotely accessing sensitive data from their personal devices. Companies are experiencing an average of 1,185 attacks monthly, forcing teams to spend anywhere from one to four days trying to undo the effect of these malicious attacks. IT teams are required to immediately address these issues rather than focus on their core business functions, and individual users are unable to access their workstation in the meantime, decreasing overall productivity, especially if the threat gains access to applications and becomes more widespread.
In an effort to equip their workforce with the infrastructure necessary to support fully remote activities, IT departments have become incredibly strained. Reactive security policies only serve to further drain these resources, making it critical for organizations to adopt solutions that can actively prevent these attacks rather than merely react.
Application Configuration
According to the Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Report, highlighted by EC-Council University, 46% of websites’ applications have high-security vulnerabilities. Four out of five of the pages that the group tested contained “configuration errors such as default settings, standard passwords, error reporting, full path disclosure and other information leaks that might have value for potential intruders.”
This form of attack is especially dangerous to corporations, as there is no quick fix or software patch that can be easily deployed to identify and resolve these weaknesses in applications.
The University of Minnesota cautions that to combat the risk of these attacks, organizations must have their IT teams meticulously monitor the integrity of their applications, which can become a time-consuming and costly waste of resources.
Deep Freeze Solutions
Adopting a proactive approach to security allows companies to not only limit the potential for a data breach, but they can also better manage their IT resources in the long-term, allowing them to re-invest their time toward daily operational activities. CIO proposed that over recent years, external cyber threats, data protection and cloud network security have rapidly become the biggest concerns for IT teams across industries, as technology is constantly evolving and the risks becoming more complex to manage.
Faronics’ Deep Freeze solution protects remote networks by maintaining a company’s desired configuration and settings. By simply rebooting, users can instantly restore their remote laptop to its original state, erasing any sign of a hacker’s attack. The patented technology reduces overall IT tickets and increases productivity. Clients’ employees are provided with unrestricted access to their remote devices, allowing them to avoid the restrictive computer lockdowns traditionally utilized in the event of a cyber attack. This means that IT is not required to spend days restoring the device, and employees themselves are able to immediately get back to work.
With 10 million Deep Freeze licenses currently being utilized across an array of industries including expansive education and health care systems, Faronics has provided thousands of IT professionals the means to manage their complex networks with minimal effort. If your organization is ready to improve your security or would like to learn more about our Deep Freeze technology, please contact us today.
