Mind Your Blind Spots: Practical Advice on Securing Your Home Network

The coronavirus pandemic and the rapid spread of the virus has disrupted the way we work and the way we live. With an estimated 7.8 billion people worldwide, most will forever remember this event and the impact it has had on our society. I know I will. 

We are stronger together.

People are human and fragile, so it is no surprise that the number one priority for most is staying healthy. In order to limit exposure to the virus, many businesses have had to implement measures to enable a large percentage of their workforce to work remotely while executing business continuity plans to minimize disruption to operations.

Over the last several months, blind spots have surfaced many didn’t anticipate; shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), hoarding of other supplies such as paper products, meat and even freezers to store excess meat. Our supply chain has definitely been put to the test.

We have had shelter-in-place orders mandated by local officials, restaurants closing or moving to a take-out model only, and schools moving to a virtual learning environment. These scenarios have caused people to experience feelings of fear, uncertainty, doubt, and even fatigue. 

However, I do believe that in this time of great uncertainty people have shown tremendous grace and strength as they adapt to change and demonstrate resiliency while trying to embrace this new normal. 

Be Present. Be Empathetic. Be Realistic.

Leaders have had to rise to the occasion in support of this shift in how work gets done, ensuring their employees have access to assets and tools needed to work remotely. They have also had to enhance their engagement with employees through clear and frequent communications while demonstrating empathy to each employees' unique situation as they sort through how to balance the demands between life and work.

As an example, I was on a staff call a few months ago and asked a colleague of mine if they could turn down the television in the background so we could hear what he had to say more clearly. He responded apologetically that the noise we heard in fact was his daughter practicing the cello. At that moment you realize that everyone's work from home environment is different, so you pivot and simply find another solution so the conversation can continue. In this case he just simply put his microphone closer to his mouth when speaking and went on mute when he wasn't.

Decreased Concern about Internet Security and Data Breaches

In the 14th annual Security Index recently released by Unisys, the data suggests people are most concerned about personal safety, family health and economic stability. Indicating also that people are less concerned about their internet security risk (45%) and even less concerned about a data breach while working from home (41%). 

The FBI's Bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that cybercrime has increased by 400% because of the crisis.  While I understand the prioritization, I fear people aren’t minding their blind spots and are neglecting to put the necessary security measures in place to maintain a secure home network leaving them exposed to targeted cyber-attacks. 

In my conversations with CISOs, they're saying that when they're testing their own employees at home now, they're seeing double the failure rates on their security tests than they saw pre-COVID. This points to the fact that we've dealt with so many people who bring their computers home from work, but their home networks are already infected. They've already had a breach of their home network. They have never updated their router. They've never rebooted, they've never patched and now they're unknowingly putting their company’s data at risk.

Practical Advice on Securing Your Home Network

During the pandemic I have fielded many interviews with the media, seeking advice on things people can do to protect their home networks to minimize their exposure to cyber-attacks. The advice I give is as follows:

• Read your company's IT security policies and procedures.
• Update your passwords or hardware such as cable boxes and internet modems. Even if you've done this before, an update will increase your safety.
• Ignore strange calls or emails asking for information.
• Verify all hyperlinks. If you have doubts, look at the domain in the URL and use online search engines to verify it independently.
• Secure your hardware by updating to the latest firmware and checking the brand and model for security risks. If you're using personal hardware or downloading software for work, get approval from your IT department.
• Protect your video calls. Always use new links and make sure meetings are password protected.

If you want more information on this topic, click below to listen to my interview with Midday Maryland’s Host, Elsa featured recently on ABC's WMAR-TV.