Nine Tips To Enhance Your Company's Cybersecurity When Employees Work Remotely

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has increased employee teleworking and telecommuting. As a result, an increased amount of business is now conducted over the internet. This change brings significant risk to employers' doorsteps.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) averaged 1,300 complaints daily from individuals and businesses regarding internet enabled crimes and scams. The FBI reported that businesses and individuals lost more than $3.5 billion through cybercrimes. According to the FBI, most complaints involved phishing and other scams, as well as extortion carried out through email. Individuals and businesses suffered the greatest losses through compromised business email, as well as scams in which individuals mimicked the account of a person or vendor known to the victim that were used to gather personal or financial information, also known as "social engineering."