Cybersecurity Roundup: Snow Software, OpenVPN, Exabeam, Acronis
With summer vacation season in high gear, lots of people are taking time off from work, but that doesn’t mean they’re leaving work behind. And that’s great news for cybercriminals.
According to a new report from Snow Software, just 26% of U.S. employees say they leave their work device behind when they are on vacation. So most employees will still answer emails, even if they’re at a barbecue, out on a boat or watching fireworks.
As technology has continued to blur the lines between professional and personal lives, this new data suggests taking work on vacation is the new normal despite the increased potential for device loss and data exposure, not to mention unintentionally limiting IT’s opportunity to take their own vacations.
The survey of 3,000 workers globally also reveals that with “vacation work” comes irresponsibility with work devices, and approximately 30% of Americans report losing a work device while on vacation. Americans are actually more likely than travelers from Europe or Asia Pacific to lose a work device on vacation, according to Snow.
The most common places for work devices to be lost or stolen while on vacation were: restaurant (35%); hotel/rental property (34%); public transportation (32%); airplane/airport (29%); and rental car (28%).
Using unsecured Wi-Fi for work while traveling can easily place your employer at risk, according to OpenVPN. An example would be using free airport Wi-Fi to get ahead of some emails while waiting for a flight. In seconds, you and your workplace could be exposed to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, where a third-party hacker intercepts private data from your device as you unknowingly browse the internet.
Hackers are watching unsecured Wi-Fi to find their next victims, especially as holiday travelers take advantage of free connections at any coffee shop, bus station or hotel they can find.
Francis Dinha, OpenVPN’s CEO and co-founder, tells us there are options to keep personal and company data safe while working remotely.
“A virtual private network (VPN) is a simple, effective tool,” he said. “A VPN works by encrypting your data, which means your information is translated into a code that only the VPN server can decipher. It also masks your IP address, or digital footprint, as it’s often called, which makes you unrecognizable to ISPs and the rest of the internet in general.”
If you work for a company that has a private network you access at the office, a VPN will allow you to virtually access that network safely from a remote location rather than exposing yourself and your company to cyber threats, Dinha said.
“A Wi-Fi network that requires a password is considered secure; however, attackers can still do harm on a secure network if it’s not managed properly,” he said. “Unfortunately, many coffee shops, hotels, airports and public spaces don’t use the best security practices. Because of this, it’s important for traveling workers to be aware of their digital environment and savvy about their digital privacy and security.”
Despite the risk, many people continue to use unsecured Wi-Fi when traveling, Dinha said. They likely don’t realize the risks of using an unsecured Wi-Fi network and how easy it is for someone with ill intentions to cause real harm. Or, in their desperate need for internet access, they may not care.
“There is also a popular notion people believe that ‘it won’t happen to me,'” he said. “Ultimately, people need to assess their digital footprint and determine how much their data is worth to them before using unsecured public Wi-Fi unprotected.”
Exabeam Buys Cloud Security Startup
Exabeam has acquired Israel-based cloud security startup SkyFormation, its first acquisition and following its recent $75 million Series E funding round.
The purchase will allow Exabeam to establish an office in Israel, provide access to talent and help more customers move their businesses and their security to the cloud, the company said.
Founded in 2014, SkyFormation allows organizations to collect logs from more than 30 cloud services into Exabeam Data Lake, Exabeam Advanced Analytics or any other security information and event management (SIEM) tool. Updates are made automatically whenever there are …
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