Companies directing large numbers of employees to work from home for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic face a host of cybersecurity issues, including concerns over the security of workers’ personal computers and vulnerability to phishing attacks.
In addition, data lines may be strained as the number of staffing corporate systems remotely surges.
While it’s likely that many problems would be covered by cyber insurance or other policies, now is a good time for firms to review their policies, experts say…..
“If you have a lot of people working off of their own computer devices, you’re of course counting on the fact that they have practiced good cyber hygiene at home, meaning do they patch and update their systems regularly and do they have high-quality protection on their computers,” said policyholder attorney Joshua Gold, a shareholder with Anderson Kill P.C. in New York.
“And, of course, you have to hope that people, when they’re at home, are doing the smart things” by logging out of their computer systems, using strong passwords and keeping their computers in secure places in their homes, even “where obviously the employer is not going to be able to do too much quality control checking,” Mr. Gold said.