Trend Micro: Securing The Pandemic-Disrupted Workplace

The coronavirus is notably the singular cause behind many changes that have affected companies and sectors worldwide. And one area in particular that organizations are facing challenges in is cyber security.

Cyber crimes increased substantially amid the pandemic, with cyber criminals taking advantage of the crisis to attack businesses with malware, ransomware, and phishing emails. Due to the threats, business leaders are racing to patch recently uncovered vulnerabilities.

Trend Micro, a multinational cyber security software company, shares with Management Events how businesses can secure their systems in the current precarious landscape.

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Trend Micro was founded in 1988 developing antivirus software, but has evolved into a market leader in hybrid cloud security, network defense, endpoint security, and more.

Trusted by 45 of the top 50 global corporations and with over 500,000 businesses using their software, the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network is one of the most advanced threat intelligence networks in the world.

PRESSING SECURITY CONCERNS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

In the Trend Micro Security Predictions report for 2020, we tried to predict the changes that would shape the cyber security industry as we entered a new decade.

What we could not have anticipated was how the “new normal” — which would arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic — would affect the way we interact with the world.

For many people, working from home became not just an option, but a necessity as the pandemic forced organizations around the world to reconsider how and where they work. Unfortunately, the speed and urgency of the changes caught many businesses unprepared, leading to security gaps in both the home and the physical workplace.

Malicious actors took advantage of the situation by launching a slew of COVID-19-themed attacks using a diverse array of lures across a wide range of platforms, including emails, social media, malicious websites, and fake mobile apps. 

Video conferencing apps became a favorite target for cyber criminals as the need for effective communication led to increased usage. These attacks ranged from pranks such as Zoombombing to full-fledged campaigns involving malware bundled with app installers.

Threat actor groups relentlessly continued their campaigns. Some groups chose to expand their operations to new platforms and operating systems, while others built campaigns around seemingly outdated techniques or made use of malware types often thought to be harmless

Ransomware continued to be highly targeted in nature, with one high-profile group deciding to drop its public operations to concentrate on private campaigns. Some ransomware operators have also threatened to expose the data they stole from their victims to the public.

Microsoft ended its support for Windows 7 early in the year, while at the same time devoted more resources to fixing vulnerabilities. The company patched a record number of bugs in the first half of 2020, which also included a number of significant vulnerabilities such as CurveBall.

Several industrial internet of things (IIoT) vulnerabilities that exist in decades-old third party software components proved that there is a lack of standardization and safe coding guidelines when it comes to IIoT systems. Due to the large number and interconnectedness of the potentially impacted devices, it will be difficult to determine the impact of these bugs for the foreseeable future.

2020 has proven in many ways that the cyber security industry does not exist in a static bubble, but shifts and changes in accordance with and in response to the events of the world around it. In a year that has dramatically impacted most of our lives, we take a look at the most significant stories and trends to determine what has changed and what we can expect from the new normal.

Read the full report to get deeper insights into cyber threats and issues for the first half of 2020.