TALKING

Employees now assume the role of IT professional for their home and the opportunity for vulnerability continues to grow as staff work outside the contained corporate network .

While we all remain physically distant , we are increasingly dependent on the Internet to keep us connected , so there ’ s never been a more critical time to champion cyber-safe behaviors that keep your employees , their data and your business safe .

In the early days of the pandemic , 7,000 office workers in the United States , United Kingdom , Australia / New Zealand , Germany , France , Italy and Japan were surveyed about how their online lives had changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic .

Tyler Moffitt , Webroot ’ s Security Analyst

Questions aimed to gauge their understanding of phishing along with general email and click habits . From there , the COVID-19 Clicks – How Phishing Capitalized on a Global Pandemic report was created , shining a light on what people know about phishing attacks , what makes them click on a potentially malicious link and overall cybersecurity and cyberresilience habits in the time of COVID-19 . It was revealed that three in 10 workers worldwide have clicked a phishing link in the past year – and in the US , that jumps to one in three .

The massive increase in remote work due to COVID-19 has come with an explosion in cybercriminal activity like phishing , and the sophistication and frequency of that threat continues to rise . constant connectivity work-from-home environments create ,” said Webroot Security Analyst , Tyler Moffitt .

“ COVID-19 themed phishing lures have surged this year with some even claiming to know the location of infected individuals in your city , which also promotes

The idea of a malicious email isn ’ t new – in fact , one in four Americans say they ’ ve received a phishing email related to the pandemic .

The idea of a malicious email isn ’ t new – in fact , one in four Americans say they ’ ve received a phishing email related to the pandemic . So why are people still clicking ?

According to Dr Prashanth Rajivan , an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington , what we need to consider is that human beings aren ’ t necessarily good at dealing with uncertainty , which is part of why cybercriminals capitalize on upheaval ( such as a global pandemic ) to launch attacks . disinformation . With cybercriminals strategically targeting the vulnerability surrounding the pandemic , it ’ s never been more critical to prioritize cyber-resilience and realize it ’ s everyone ’ s responsibility to protect their digital data just as they would their physical health .”

In the report , Dr Rajivan offers his perspective on how the COVID-19 pandemic and general increase in working from home could affect individuals ’ and businesses ’ cybersecurity status .

“ Cybercrime is a crime of opportunity , and that opportunity is abundant right now because of the

“ Like with distracted driving , working while doing other household chores or even watching TV seems

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