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The Critical Role of Cybersecurity in Protecting Remote Workers and Business Assets

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The Critical Role of Cybersecurity in Protecting Remote Workers and Business Assets


December 17, 2021

Featured article by Jeff Broth

tattoo 300x199 The Critical Role of Cybersecurity in Protecting Remote Workers and Business Assets

During the early days of the pandemic, the business community scrambled to find ways to prevent closing their offices. Finally, after some time, they settled for a work-from-home scheme to allow most of their employees to continue working and keep their businesses alive.

As organizations quickly adapt to the remote working situation, cyber actors likewise adapt their strategies rapidly.

The pandemic forced most IT administrators of various organizations to expose apps for internal use to the public internet. They had to do this so that remote workers could access these apps. While it is necessary, the situation opened new courses of vulnerability to an increase of cyberattacks.

The current state of cyberattacks

While the pandemic continues, cybercriminals are escalating their attack activities on web apps. However, according to some tech experts, some attacks are not institutional hacking but caused by people with too much time on their hands and knowledge to install and use basic tools for hacking.

Considering the increased attack surface brought about by remote working, it is incumbent upon businesses and IT managers to utilize tools and implement strategies that will mitigate the risks of cyberattacks.

This can include providing adequate training, so that users will be educated enough not to fall victim to social engineering attacks such as phishing, spoofing, and the like. It can also include deploying a WAF or web application firewall, which can provide additional access controls and protection for a company’s digital assets like business applications and company data. One other strategy is to tighten the controls in terms of which devices can access business data, instead of allowing employees to utilize their personal devices.

Perils of remote access by work from home employees

Working remotely became the new normal as it is the most convenient method to keep on working and continuing business operations. Most employees are now used to the setup. What became a big concern…

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Amnesty says NSO’s Pegasus used to hack phones of Palestinian rights workers

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An aerial view shows the logo of Israeli cyber firm NSO Group at one of its branches in the Arava Desert, southern Israel July 22, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

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JERUSALEM, Nov 8 (Reuters) – The mobile phones of six Palestinian rights workers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were hacked using Israeli technology firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and internet security watchdog Citizen Lab said on Monday.

The new findings followed NSO’s blacklisting last week by the U.S. Commerce Department amid allegations its spyware targeted journalists, rights activists and government officials in several countries.

NSO, which voiced dismay at the U.S. move, exports its products under licences from Israel’s Defence Ministry and says it only sells to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and that it takes steps to curb abuse.

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London-based Amnesty and Toronto’s Citizen Lab said they had independently confirmed that Pegasus had been used to hack the Palestinian activists’ phones, after Front Line Defenders, an international rights group, began collecting data in October about the suspected hacking.

The Israeli Defence Ministry did not immediately comment on the new findings.

Asked about the allegations, NSO said: “As we stated in the past, NSO Group does not operate the products itself … and we are not privy to the details of individuals monitored.”

Three of the six people work for Palestinian rights groups that Israel designated as terrorist organisations last month, saying they had funnelled donor aid to militants. The groups named by Israel have denied the allegations.

Stopping short of blaming Israel for the alleged hacking, some of the groups whose workers were said to have been targeted demanded an international investigation.

“We don’t have evidence. We can’t accuse a certain party since we don’t have yet enough information about who carried out that action,” Sahar Francis, director of Addameer Organization, said at a news conference in Ramallah.

“The United Nations is responsible for human rights and for protecting…

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Security workers called in to protect mobile vaccine units – The Durango Herald

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GOLDEN – Security workers will accompany nurses and staff members of Jefferson County Public Health’s three mobile vaccine units for the foreseeable future after months of harassment and abuse.

Last weekend, the agency was forced to pull vans off the street after a driver in Gilpin County, who contracts Jefferson County’s health agency, drove toward and destroyed signs around the van. Others “verbally abused” staff members Sept. 4, said Dr. Dawn Comstock, the agency’s executive director.

These types of attacks have been going on for months, she said, but they’ve escalated to a higher degree. For example, last month someone threw live fireworks into a tent of nurses and staff members, the Gazette reported.

Despite the ongoing barrage of attacks and harassment, the county was still set to hold its COVID-19 vaccine events.

“JCPH will not be intimidated out of its public health mission,” Comstock said. “We’ve arranged additional security measures to keep staff safe and will be working with our law enforcement partners to assure these handful of extremists are not allowed to infringe on the rights of those who want to be vaccinated.”

Each incident has been reported to law enforcement, however, each time the perpetrator has left the scene before they arrived.

Two incidents are being investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and at least one by the Arvada Police Department, said Mike Taplin, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.

The health department has partnered with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies who will evaluate whether security, a deputy – on or off-duty – or other local officers, are needed.

Comstock said she also contacted the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to ask for them to provide security or funding for security to be used at each mobile vaccine unit, but was told they’re working with state law enforcement to combat the issue around the state.

“They let us know this isn’t…

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Amazon mulls monitoring workers’ keyboard to prevent security threats

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Amazon expressed its concerns that as more employees work remotely because of the pandemic, company data becomes more vulnerable to cases when outsiders, rogues, or imposters steal data from an employee’s unlocked computer.

To put a patch on such vulnerabilities, Amazon is planning to tap BehavioSoc to licence tools that could monitor their workers’ behavioural biometrics, reported Engadget.

According to BehavioSoc, which pioneers in related software, behavioural biometrics is the way a user uses their devices and apps, “such as mouse movements, typing rhythm, touch and swipe gestures or how they hold their device.”

“In contrast to physical biometrics like a fingerprint, behavioural biometrics provides continuous authentication to verify digital identities by passively monitoring of behavioural inputs without negatively impacting their experience,” said BehavioSoc in its Privacy FAQs page.

According to Amazon, it looked at other employee monitoring solutions but ended up relying on “privacy-aware” models like BehavioSoc, which collects anonymous keyboard data.

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