It’s no secret that global cyber attacks have risen in the last six months amid the COVID-19 situation. The manufacturing industry have seen the most attacks, but almost every business in the world has been affected in some way.
Cloud security experts Mimecast recently examined the first 100 days of the crisis, focusing on the patterns of scams between January and March in the build-up of the pandemic. The report noted and 26% increase in opportunistic detections, with impersonations up 30%. In total, detections had increased by a third.
Vulnerable industries and key tactics 
It’s important to prepare your business for the inevitable, but it can be difficult to tell when you’re being targeted. Mimecast’s recent blog highlights how cybercriminals are targeting companies and workers that have shifted to remote working. Increasing the sophistication and using a variety of methods seem to be the tactics of choice for the attackers.
Industries such as manufacturing, retail and wholesale have been targeted heavily due to the near-normal continuation of operations during lockdown. The retail and manufacturing sectors account for nearly 20% of all the cyber attacks in the first half of this year and are the most vulnerable industries right now. They’ve largely been victim to the ransomware attacks, similar to the attack on Honda in June. These attacks typically involve the locking of key systems until a sum of money has been paid.
Cybercriminals are also taking advantage of the rising number of remote workers. One common method being used is phishing emails targeted at work accounts to gain access to information. These attacks often involve an employee clicking a link and providing data to what they believe is a legitimate source.
How to secure yourself and your business
As far as phishing attacks go, they have never been more prominent than now. In order to drive down the number of successful attacks, companies must be willing to take steps to secure their businesses. Our previous blog highlights each of those steps and how they can be implemented quickly and effectively.
Where to start
It’s easier than you think to protect your business, regardless of your industry or business make-up. We can help you understand more about cyber security, just give us a call today and see how security solutions can work for you.
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