Working from Home? Try to Separate Work from Play.

Remote employees can be a weak link in an already vulnerable chain.

David Masson, Ottawa-based director of threat intelligence for Darktrace, says employees are more vulnerable to cyber tricks “when they’re out and about” and not inside their headquarters.

“Right now, we’re seeing an explosion of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people suddenly working from home for the first time,” Masson says.

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Nobody wants to be the reason their company was hacked.

“That’s an issue because it’s easier for them to be exploited.”

A spokesman for eSentire — an Ontario-based private company that manages threat detection and response for organizations in several countries — says criminals “can prosper and grow in chaos.”

The criminals know some organizations were not prepared for the impact of COVID-19 and are now playing emergency catch-up, says eSentire vice-president Mark Sangster.

“And those are the times to strike,” Sangster adds.

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His advice for employees: don’t share information gathered from friends, social media, or suspicious email with attachments because that could spread malevolent software through the organization.

“You’re controlling the potential for misinformation because that’s where people end up clicking on fake links or opening fake documents,” Sangster says.