Introduction
The recent COVID-10 pandemic has forced us into the safety of our homes, not knowing when it’ll end. Among us are people who have been forced to work from home. Many companies have decided that risking their employees’ lives is not worth the boost in profit.
However, working from home comes with its own problems, once of which is dealing with cyberattacks. There’s been a recent increase in the frequency of cyberattacks because people are working from home—working on networks that aren’t as secure as a business network.
This creates the need for stronger cybersecurity, meaning there’s a need for cybersecurity tools such as a VPN. In this article, I’m going to go over a few of the cyberattacks affecting many work-from-home employees and the solutions available.
3 Types of Cyberattacks & How to Avoid Them
I’ll be going over 3 types of cyberattacks—the most common ones affecting people everywhere. However, be warned: there are other types of cyberattacks. The solutions I give for these will most likely work with other types of cyberattacks, but you’d do well researching the cyberattack in question before assuming so.
Attack #1: Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
The first type of cyberattack we’ll be discussing is the “man-in-the-middle” attack. Man-in-the-middle attacks take advantage of a network’s lack of security in order to intercept data. For example, a cybercriminal may hang around on a public network and wait for someone to access their bank account, giving the cybercriminal access to that information.
To keep yourself from becoming a victim of man-in-the-middle attacks, use a virtual private network—a VPN, the tool I mentioned earlier. But what is VPN for? It’ll encrypt your information, meaning no one on the same network as you will be able to steal or intercept your information.
Attack #2: Phishing Emails
Next up, we have a scam as old as the Internet itself: phishing scams. Phishing scams rely on social engineering and fearmongering, manipulating and scaring people into opening certain emails, visiting shady websites, and clicking scam links. Example: an email telling you you won a $500 gift card to Best Buy.
Avoiding phishing scams is as easy as employing a little common sense and not clicking on whatever email comes your way. Phishing is as popular as it was in 2000, and thousands fall for it every year—don’t be part of the statistic.
Attack #3: Social Engineering Calls
Remember when I mentioned phishing employs social engineering tactics? Well, there’s a similar type of cyberattack that’s seen a huge resurgence due to the pandemic, and it goes by social engineering calling. Social engineering calling includes scams like a strange number calling and telling you that they’ve detected a virus on your laptop.
These can go pretty far, however, and many of these phone calls disguise themselves as a certain business—maybe the business you work for. Avoiding falling victim to these calls requires the same vigilance you would show for phishing emails. Don’t hand out any business information to anyone over the phone. And if you absolutely have to, confirm the identity of the person behind the phone.
Conclusion
This pandemic has decreased the quality of life for many people, and working from home may sound great in theory, but it comes with its own set of problems. However, with a few quick tips and a little persevering, you can avoid these problems entirely.
While this pandemic has forced us into less-than-ideal situations, you don’t need to risk your security because of it. If you heed the tips I’ve given you throughout this article, you’ll be on your way to becoming one of the most secure people on your street!
