Staying Aware Of Hidden Threats

Money talks

- Julia Newbould

At the start of this latest lockdown in Sydney, my Facebook account was hacked. I felt vulnerable and violated, and worried about the potential consequences. I also had no idea what the end game was for the hackers. My Instagram and Twitter accounts were the next targets.

It’s all sorted now but I’ve been told that many others have had the same experience over the past few months.

According to Shannon Sedgwick, who leads the cybersecurity and privacy practice for Ankura, online fraud and scams increased sharply after the start of the pandemic in 2020. “With the mass transition to remote working, data breaches went through the roof,” he says.

Across the world, with the onset of lockdowns, businesses had to transition to remote working very quickly. “In many cases, businesses weren’t prepared. People had to use personal devices for company work and that mass transition to remote working made these cybercriminals step up their efforts in targeting people, and finding ways into their business that typically wouldn’t be there because they’re usually protected by the company’s security.