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TO PUT IT SIMPLY , THE ATTACK SURFACE HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ATTACKERS WILL TAKE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN A FOOTHOLD INTO THE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT .

Richard Hughes , Head of Technical Cyber Security at A & O IT Group

Why is there a greater need for security during this time ?

We are seeing an unprecedented number of employees working from home and this is likely to continue for some time . As a result , we are seeing corporate data move from perhaps a single well-protected network to hundreds , if not thousands , of home networks that have little or no real protection .

To put it simply , the attack surface has grown exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic and attackers will take any opportunity to gain a foothold into the corporate environment with the home network providing a real possibility for this . We also see that some organisations still have a tactical approach to deal with a home-based workforce when in reality they need to be thinking far more strategically .

Even emergency changes to the environment need to be retrospectively assessed from a security perspective at the earliest opportunity . Hastily configured solutions tend to be those with the most vulnerabilities .

How are pen testers adapting their assessments for the current climate ?

Some assessments that would have been conducted on a client site are now being conducted remotely and endpoints that