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Cyberattacks Latin America

Cybercriminals Target Work-At-Home Employees to Steal Corporate Data: Study

Cybercriminals are launching phishing email attacks on employees working from home in an apparent attempt to break into their corporate networks.

In a survey conducted by antivirus software maker Kaspersky, nearly 40% of the Brazilian respondents admitted that they had received malicious emails related to coronavirus pandemic.

Some employees, says Kaspersky, venture out of their safety net, using more online services – such as video conferencing applications, instant messaging, and file storage – without approval from their IT departments.

Remote working may also bring new risks such as increased spam and phishing attacks, connecting to compromised WiFi spots, or the use of shadow IT by employees,” the software maker has warned.

It suggests that companies transitioning to remote working environments should train their employees on how to work with email securely and, in particular, identify phishing emails sent by cybercriminals.

Accidental downloading of malicious content can lead to devices being infected and business data being compromised.

The cybersecurity expert says the companies should also require their workers to change passwords regularly.

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“While employees are trying to get along with the new reality of working from home, IT and cybersecurity teams are under pressure to enable them to continue working safely,” says Andrey Dankevich, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Kaspersky.

The software maker claims to have interviewed more than 6,000 remote workers across the world for the study.

Narayan Ammachchi

News Editor for Nearshore Americas, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with a decade of experience in politics and international business. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.

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