CLEVELAND — An unprecedented number of people are working at home due to the spread of the coronavrius, but a cybersecueity expert said this can be dangerous.
For many companies, remote networks are normal. However, this typically isn't set up for the entire company. So while more people are opting to work from home, additional steps need to be taken in order to protect the company and the network in which it operates.
Rob Cheng, CEO of PC Matic, an antivirus company, said there are steps you can take to prevent hackers from getting into your company's network.
Be on the lookout for email scams. Several government agencies have warned phishing scams are on the rise. Cheng warned about emails with attachments.
"If the antivirus on your network is not good and you open that attachment, that could allow hackers into your company and most likely the network you're connected to," the CEO said.
He also suggested people to change their passwords. Cheng recommended using a password that you don't use for anything else at home.
Finally, advice for companies, close unused remote ports.
"Remote ports are typically used for remote maintenance, but now they're being used for everyone to do their work," Cheng said. "But I advise, if you're opening up a bunch of ports and no one is using them after midnight that you close them. One of the reasons we saw so much ransom ware last year was because of all of the open remote ports. So now we're opening even more remote ports when we know this is how they're attacking. So my advice, yeah we've got to do this, but when they're not in use close them."
Cheng said working remotely can be hard for employees and they need to possess cybersecurity skills in order to keep their company and network safe.
The owner of PC Matic said for the next 120 days they are offer cybersecurity protection products to business for free.
"Just because this is unprecedented work going on, let's do something unprecedented," he said.
For more information about PC Matic, click here.
