While the number of enterprises going back to the office for work is increasing, Kaspersky believes this is one of the best times for organizations to make sure each of their devices is checked and updated for optimal protection.
Organizations resuming work-from-office are experiencing relative ease in managing not just their workforce but also the cybersecurity needs of their business. Kaspersky, a cybersecurity and digital privacy company, however, believes that given the current environment, businesses should all the more be vigilant.
The prime reason for this is, that the macro-environmental factors affecting the cybersecurity landscape have worsened compared to last year. From late 2021 to date, ransomware attacks have multiplied. Yet, it is not the number but the type and the intensity of the attacks that have undergone a dramatic change.
Ransomware has become more ubiquitous than ever before and it is now using advanced techniques through AI and ML to launch cross-platform attacks. It continues to target enterprises across multiple platforms to ensure that none of the systems works as intended.
Some of these ransomware groups are highly politically motivated, particularly regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict – they are using techniques that wipe your data files and storage rather than encrypt it. As a result, enterprises are looking at a sweeping loss of data, which could be detrimental for the business from a reputational as well as a legal standpoint. Ransomware is a chief cause of advanced persistent threats that organizations face in a digital landscape.
The only protection is high-quality endpoint threat detection and security. As work from office resumes, enterprises need to ensure each of their devices receives a cybersecurity check and update; they need to also make sure to run a few training programmes to make their employees aware of the constant cyber threats present in the environment they operate in. It is also important for enterprises to ensure regular data backups, especially done in the offline mode to reduce exposure to the internet.
Dipesh Kaura, GM, Kaspersky South Asia, explains why this matters particularly in the Indian context, “India is among the top 3 targets for cyberattacks in the APAC region. It does not help that businesses in India are still waking up to the scale of damage that cyberattacks can cause within the enterprise as well as the overall economic system by draining it of trust and confidence. It’s one of the major reasons why the country has moved rapidly to secure its internet pathways and national data security. Now businesses need to follow suit.”