Are your IT staff ready for the pandemic-driven insider threat?

Abstract

As this article is being written it's mid-March. The situation likely will have changed significantly by the time you read this, as it does by the day and even the hour. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic and the UK Government has stepped up its response from the ‘contain’ to the ‘delay’ phase. Public spaces and transport are noticeably quieter and many workplaces are getting emptier as staff members work from home. The Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns are hitting businesses hard. And as workforces move to remote working, IT departments are under pressure. At the same time, cyber criminals are exploiting the pandemic, with rises in phishing and other forms of attacks. The cyber security workforce, already suffering a skills crisis, may lack the soft skills required to effectively tackle these issues, many of which could be solved if the industry didn't rely so heavily on recruiting graduates and rather looked towards hiring apprentices, argues Phil Chapman of Firebrand Training.