I’m Paula Santolaya, reporting live from SANTOLIVE in my virtual reality. Have comments, opinions, or suggestions? Post them in the comments section or email me at info@santolive.com.

The spread of the coronavirus or Covid-19 means that many workers are unable to attend work and, therefore, companies are forced to stimulate telecommuting.

This can pose a danger to the security of computer systems, since criminals take advantage of the fact that we are at home and carry out phishing campaigns —a method to trick users into revealing their personal information (passwords, credit card numbers…).

These cybercriminals send malicious files that seem to be related to the disease. What their recipients do not know is that these attachments contain Trojans and «worms» (computer viruses) capable of destroying, blocking and copying data from our devices. As in the case of the Covid-19, a computer virus can spread rapidly via the Internet and cause a real world alarm. An example of this was the spread of the virus ‘I love you’, which in 2000 collapsed thousands of computers around the world.

To reduce the risks associated with telecommuting, here are five recommendations:

1. Provide employees with VPN access (Virtual Private Network) to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. A VPN can help to protect your computer and your information from sniffers and other types of hacks.
2. Create complex passwords and change them periodically.
3. Do not open suspicious emails asking for compromised data, or attachments from unknown senders.
4. Update operating systems, antivirus and browser versions.
5. Back up and synchronize staff work with the company’s centralized storage systems to avoid losing information.

It is evident that the coronavirus experience will pass and mark a milestone in labor relations history. Along with the introduction of 5G technology, many companies will join the digital transformation and use tools to ensure remote access for those who work from home in slippers and a big cozy sweatshirt!

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