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One of the greatest changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is how people work now and likely for years to come. It has forced companies across the world to allow many of their staff to work from home and this may become the new normal. Recently, Facebook announced that it plans to shift towards a remote workforce as a long-term solution and many other companies are following this trend. Twitter, for instance, has offered its staff the choice of working from home permanently. On a positive note, this can help companies ride the COVID-19 storm and possibly even cut costs on office space in the long run, but with so many staff working from home via Wi-Fi, opening attachments, using third party apps, uploading and downloading files and so on, how do we mitigate the higher risk of cyber attacks? In this article, we will look at how to prevent cyber attacks as we move towards a work-from-home culture.

Safeguarding your network is the key to cyber security

The most important aspect in cyber security, whether working from home or the office, is to safeguard your network. There are 6 key areas you need to focus on:

• Staff awareness – humans are often the weakest link in cyber security so it is vital that you enhance staff awareness on how to spot phishing emails or suspicious attachments and educate them regularly on common cyber attack threats, such as “Friday afternoon fraud” which is the greatest cybercrime threat afflicting the law sector.
• Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with a strong firewall – without a secure connection between the Internet and your end points, your traffic can be intercepted and your data can be stolen by cyber criminals. By using a VPN with a strong firewall, you can extend your private network to public users and filter undesirable and malicious content. A comprehensive Unified Threat Management (UTM) system, such as Guardforce’s GRID solution, provides both of these protections in one.
• Ensure you have automated updates against zero-day cyber threats – network intrusions can happen very quickly so having automated updates against new zero-day cyber threats is essential. This should preferably occur in less than 3 seconds.
• Avoid UTMs with a “back-door design” – ensure any UTM you choose provides total security with no “back doors” for hackers to exploit.
• 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring – cyber attacks occur at any time so it is important to have reliable cyber security experts monitoring your network 24/7, 365 days of the year.
• Protection for all devices – not only do computers and laptops need protecting but also all IoT devices, such as mobiles, Smart TVs, CCTV, etc. which are all possible entrances for hackers to gain access to your network.

Guardforce Real-time Insured Defence (GRID)

With more staff working from home due to COVID-19, strong cyber security is vital. But instead of using separate vendors to protect your systems from cyber attack, the most effective and efficient way is to use Unified Threat Management (UTM). The is a single unified system offering an end-to-end solution to cover all computers and IoT devices that connect to your firm’s network. offers 3 key components:

• Comprehensive UTM protection (including encrypted VPN tunnel and “No Back Door” design ensuring total security)
• 24 x 7 professional monitoring service (including a 3-second response time to zero-day threats and alerts sent if issues with hardware units are found)
• Cyber Crisis Expenses Insurance (a first-in-the-market solution to protect your corporate reputation from a data or security breach. Should a cyber security breach occur, all expenses associated with rebuilding the reputation of the company, such as legal fees and costs of PR activities, will be covered by the protection plan)

By using a powerful all-in-one UTM such as , firms can enjoy the flexibility of staff working remotely and continue business activity safely and securely.

Hong Kong Government launches funding schemes to subsidize remote working

To support enterprises to continue their business and services during the epidemic, the Hong Kong Government has set up two funding support schemes. Under the Anti-Epidemic Fund, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) have launched the Distance Business (D-Biz) Programme. The Programme provides funding support through fast-track processing for enterprises to adopt IT solutions for developing distance business. It offers HK$100,000 for adopting an IT solution and up to HK$300,000 for a six-month project. Learn more about the scheme here.

The Government also announced another package specifically for the legal sector, namely the LawTech Fund. This Fund aims to assist small and medium-sized law firms/barristers' chambers in procuring and upgrading information technology systems. Under the scheme, law firms and chambers with not more than five practicing lawyers are eligible for application with each firm/chamber eligible for a reimbursable amount of up to HK$50,000. Learn more here.

Now is the perfect time to upgrade your firm’s cyber security

With these two funding support schemes for IT enhancement available, it is the ideal time to upgrade your network to a system such as GRID. To learn more about how to improve your company’s cyber security or GRID, contact Guardforce here.