Cybersecurity and Third-Party Risk

Chapter 3What the COVID‐19 Pandemic Did to Cybersecurity and Third‐Party Risk

The pandemic, resulting lockdowns, travel restrictions, and behavioral changes are going to leave a lasting imprint on our lives, businesses, and governments. Because of these immediate effects, cybercriminals quickly acted, swinging their focus and efforts to exploit the panic and confusion surrounding COVID‐19. As months passed and other news shaped events, these bad actors continued to change their tactics and messages based on that news. Cyber incidents increased as the focus centered more on how to make the most money and create the most damage during COVID‐19. As vaccines are being administered and lockdowns could be ending, data is beginning to predict that trends will continue after lockdowns and travel will return to normal. What's considered “normal” will be different, with those modifications equaling more workers being online and connected, which will lead to more surface area (i.e., more connections + more online users = more targets) for attack.

The Pandemic Shutdown

On March 19, 2020, the first lockdown orders began rolling across the United States. Much of North and South America, Europe, and most of Asia was on a similar trajectory or had already locked down. The rush to send employees to work from home had begun, including all the risks associated with an unplanned massive workforce relocation. While some companies had pandemic plans and/or natural disaster plans set in place to ...