Most of us have looked forward to summertime since we were school kids knowing that this is the time to relax, take vacations, and let our guard down a little from the stress that we experience throughout the rest of the year. Unfortunately, hackers see this as a perfect opportunity to exploit your systems while your guard is down.
As you enjoy your drink on the beach or play golf in the sunny, fresh cut fields of the nearest country club, you may be forgetting to adhere to company security policies. Employees will feel the need to respond to work emails even if they are away, putting your business at a higher risk for a security breach if they have not considered all of the things they were taught during their security awareness training.
Accessing company emails from an unsecure WIFI network while away on vacation or taking company devices to new locations can put your company’s data directly in front of hackers if those points of connectivity are not secure. Even something as little as plugging in your phone to charge at the airport can drastically jeopardize your company’s data if a threat actor got there first and compromised the free USB charging station.
Similar to when you travel for work, if you’re using your work devices on vacation, hackers take note of this and can specifically target you. 31% of employees use free WIFI hotspots to access work related documents, and 21% of employees email work documents to and from their personal email while away, despite this creating dangerous security problems. As employees tend to slack on following company security policies while taking time off in an effort to “respond quickly”, your business can be subject to more risk of cyberattacks during the summer season.
Regardless of your industry, your organization should be one step ahead of hackers by implementing and reinforcing security training for all employees. As the summer season heightens your risk for a cyberattack, your business needs a suit of armor that can be well maintained no matter who is coming and going from the office. As your partner in cybersecurity safety, we’re here to help with any questions or concerns that you may have along the way.
