Increase in cyber-attacks disguised as information on covid-19

Since last year we have seen a number of changes being implemented in our lifestyle, the adoption of remote work is very significant. Home office brings its benefits, but also particular challenges, one of which has to do with cyber security. Online commerce and the transmission of important information from terminals without the security of a protected local network have grown significantly and with it also the attacks by hackers.

There has been an extraordinary increase in attacks that use the coronavirus theme to generate a "bait", the information offered takes advantage of the user's fear and distraction to lead them to click on malicious links and gain access to sensitive data, whether banking or confidential.

Another point of caution is when connecting to a new network, it may seem attractive to connect to a free Wi-Fi server in public places such as restaurants or airports, but the network may not be secure and there are people capable of intercepting data traffic.

As a good security practice, it is recommended to always encrypt important or confidential information, not to use the same password every time, to keep software versions updated (as vulnerabilities are periodically found and corrected) and to keep offline backup copies. Some additional protections involve the use of VPN and firewalls, even at home.

It is characteristic of this type of attack that they are detected months after the infiltration has occurred, when much material has been compromised and the damage has been done. In terms of insurance, this is the reason why coverage against damages due to cyber attacks is usually retroactive.

Fidex has protection and insurance programs against cyber-attack damages, contact us to find out which scheme is best for your company.