Could Your Colleagues Put You at Risk of a Cyberattack?

The majority of us understand the importance of cybersecurity. Having the correct cybersecurity measures in place will prevent us from being the victims of regular cyberattacks. 

However, with a modern society moving to remote working, more people could be at risk of a cyberattack. As much as we prepare for the worst, we can’t always be sure that our colleagues are doing the same.

If they do not use any cybersecurity measures you could also be at risk. Cybercriminals can find ways to get through your cybersecurity measures if they have breached one of your colleague’s devices. This is important to understand, especially if you work remotely.

Can Cybercriminals Use Others to Get Into Your Devices?

Cybercriminals are cunning, and they are constantly developing new strategies to breach security measures. In most cases, they do not even need direct access to your devices to launch their attacks.

When you are working remotely, you are most likely sharing files with your colleagues on a consistent basis. This means that your colleagues have access to some of your information such as your email address and perhaps even your location and phone number.

Unfortunately, this is all a cybercriminal would need to commence their attack on your devices. Something as simple as an email address could give them direct access to you and your devices.

For example, if a cybercriminal has gained access to your email address from a colleague’s device, they can begin sending phishing emails to you. Once you interact with one of these emails, malicious software can be installed on your device.

The software can be used for a variety of crimes. In some cases, they can control your computer remotely. This would allow the hacker to bypass your security and access all of your personal information.

Why Your Team Needs to Stay Cyber Secure

If you are working remotely you need to ensure that our entire team is staying secure. This is especially crucial if you work with sensitive information. Your entire team and your hard work could be at risk.

Cybercriminals could install a virus on one of the devices used by your team. The virus can destroy any of your files, which means they would be lost forever if they are not backed up somewhere.

Cybercriminals could also install spyware on one of the devices. Which would allow them to see everything that is happening on that device. This could allow them to steal passwords, files or even login credentials.

If your team works with important information, a hacker could also install ransomware on one of the devices. This would encrypt the files and prevent anyone from accessing them. The only way to get the files back would be to pay a fee to the criminal.

How to Protect Your Devices From Cyberattacks

Your team needs to ensure that their cybersecurity measures are up to standard. It is difficult to enforce this on employees, however, it is highly recommended as it can save you a lot of trouble and headaches in the future.

The first step to protecting your team is installing antivirus software. If each member of your team has antivirus software installed on their devices, there is less of a chance that a cybercriminal will be able to install malicious software on their computer.

Antivirus software will constantly scan your devices for any suspicious software. The software will notify you of anything suspicious happening on your device. It is also crucial that you keep the software updated.

Software updates are put out by the company to fix any potential flaws that have been discovered. It will also add in new security measures if cybercriminals have found a new way to bypass the software.

Your team should also be using a VPN. VPN software will encrypt your internet connection, and no one will be able to see what is happening on your devices. VPN software will also hide your location by connecting to a global server.

Your team also needs to ensure that all of their accounts are secure in case of a security breach. This can be done by ensuring that they use strong and unique passwords. Many people use the same password for multiple accounts, which puts them at risk.

Strong passwords involve using passwords that can not easily be cracked by a hacker. These would be passwords that do not include any of your personal information such as your name or date of birth.

Unique passwords mean using different passwords for each of your accounts. Many people use the same password for different accounts. If a hacker is able to crack one of your passwords, they will be able to access all of your accounts that use the same password.