Cloud apps such as Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and Google Drive became an essential part of many organizations due to the remote work environment created by the pandemic. Organizations turned to these solutions to make working from home more efficient and to streamline communication efforts to replace the face-to-face interactions that occur in the office. Cybercriminals have noticed the increased adoption of cloud apps and are targeting malware attacks in that direction. A recent research report from Netskope determined that cloud apps are now the leading malware distributor, beating out web downloads.
Does your organization have the proper security protocols in place to prevent a cloud app-based malware attack? To limit your risk of exposure to malware, it is important to implement a robust, multi-layered approach to your security strategy. Here are some practices to consider utilizing to strengthen your defense against malware attacks:
- Conduct regular employee training. If we look at security breaches over the last several years, human error plays a significant role in malware attacks and security vulnerabilities. Having current, engaging training that informs team members of what red flags to look out for with malware attacks emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity at your organization and equips team members with the knowledge and resources to think twice before downloading. It is not enough to perform one training and move on, training should be required and held at least once a month to ensure team members are aware of what recent attacks are on the rise and how to react properly if sent suspicious emails or download requests.
- Limit what apps can be downloaded without IT permission. Many employees stray from the apps that are already installed on their work computers and elect to download ones of their choosing. You may want to consider prohibiting the download of any external apps without IT permission to confirm that all apps on work computers are safe and legitimate. If you want to keep that control in your employees’ hands, create a list of recommended apps that your IT team knows is safe or encourage employees to reach out to IT before downloading an app.
- Conduct a security assessment on your current apps. Continually assessing the apps used at your organization is a fantastic way to determine which apps you want to stick with, and which apps you may want to uninstall. To effectively assess your apps outline and rank what risks your team deems tolerable and which risks are a no-go within an app. Evaluate how risky your apps are based on the ranking your created and decide from there which apps are staying, and which are going. Be sure to blacklist any apps that are unsafe, so they are not downloaded again. At BerganKDV, we conduct security assessments with our clients to ensure the software and security strategy they have in place are actively defending against attacks. If not, we provide the next steps to achieving a powerful security strategy.
With the pandemic still making waves and the rising popularity of remote work, the use of cloud apps in the workplace is not going away anytime soon. By effectively training your employees, monitoring downloads and assessing your current app usage, you can better protect your organization from malware attacks. If you want to learn more about cloud-app safety protocols and how to implement them at your organization, BerganKDV can help. Contact us today to see what technology and security solutions we can offer you to grant you peace of mind
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