Ahead of Valentine's Day, Mimecast said Covid-19
restrictions may dampen the mood as more people could fall prey to cyber
threats.
“Why should organisations care more about Valentine’s Day
phishing schemes this year? It's simple. More employees are using
corporate-owned devices for personal use and the threat of targeted phishing
attacks looms large. The expedited move to the new digital office is adding to
these risks and employers must remain ever vigilant this Valentine's Day and
throughout the year,” the cybersecurity company said.
Scam artists often target those seeking love online by
pretending to be a love interest and then dupe them into giving them money,
passwords, credit details and access to online assets.
Mimecast recently surveyed more than 1,000 employees in
various markets across the globe about their “new” work from home habits.
In SA:
74% said they extensively use company-issued devices for
personal matters like online dating”
60% of respondents reported an increase in personal usage
of company-owned devices this year.
80% of men and 68% of women reported increasing their use
of company-owned devices for personal use.
43% of survey respondents are not reporting suspect e-mails
to their IT or security departments, leaving organisations at risk for serious
breaches.
SA respondents averaged 2.6 hours of personal activity on
their work devices every day.
Head of threat intelligence risk and resilience at Mimecast
Carl Wearn said for many, the home has become their office, blurring the lines
between personal and professional activities like never before.
“This is creating opportunities for cybercriminals to
target victims in new ways, and makes regular and effective cybersecurity
awareness training all the more important. Empowering employees with the tools
and knowledge to identify and avoid potential cyber threats can provide greater
resilience against threat actors.
“This is especially important as the pandemic continues to
take a mental toll on professionals, potentially affecting their judgment and
exposing themselves — and their organisations — to greater risk.”
Times
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