Should we fear the end of telework and the return to business

Since the deconfine announcement in France until today, nearly 40% of French people have been teleworking.

This is despite the fact that the switch to remote work has been done in a somewhat abrupt way and companies have not, for some, had enough time for their data and computer systems. However, it is safe to say that telework is a practice that will now be rooted in professional habits. So the problem for the IT security manager is to find a way to adapt remote collaboration to cybersecurity.

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Since companies adopted telework as a method to ensure business continuity despite containment, cybersecurity professionals have feared a scenario. The one in which an employee, would be the victim of a computer attack, through which hackers will pass to access the computer system of the company to which the latter is connected. A scenario that may happen every minute spent teleworking. For, it must be admitted, the conditions are right for. According to cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks, mail used for phishing purposes has increased by more than 667%, a very common technique that, despite years and awareness, has not lost its effectiveness. In January alone, 12 thousand coronavirus-related computer attacks were reported to have been observed, while in April this number increased to 380,000. "The hackers took advantage of people's circumstantial distress to phish, attempt fraud, for example by offering masks to protect themselves from the Covid, or giving money to support hospitals. Noted Gwénael Rouillec, director of cybersecurity at Huawei France.

In the face of a resurgence of cybersecurity, information system security managers have been mobilized as well as firms specializing in providing security solutions. Because one thing is certain and experts know that the true scope of cyber-malveillance at this time is difficult to discern. So the consequences are likely to be more terrible than we think. "You can't see the fallout from these incidents in the future because there's always a time between the attack and your knowledge a little later, either because when you steal information, you're going to monetize it later on the darknet, for example, and it's longer, or because companies aren't able to see and understand these incidents. points out the director of the BU Offensive and Defensive Security of Openminded, Christophe Longuepez. Clearly, it is with time that we can truly measure the level of risk that all these acts of cyber malice represent. But the head of security information systems were quick to mobilize. And for good reason: "Companies have very strongly opened their information systems on the outside to remove a number of constraints and allow their employees to work outside the company" stressed Christophe Longuepez.

However, the main concern today of these specialists, especially managers and security teams, is indeed the return of telework. Indeed, the recovery of data from computers that were used during telework to the company's computer fleet will not be an easy task, because of the potential risk of contamination. Alain Bouillé, general delegate of the Cesin (Club of Information Security and Digital Security Experts), and Head of It Systems Security of the Caisse des Dépots Group, asked: "How can we safely recover two months of data stored on personal computers? It's unthinkable. You have no control over the workstations: some of my colleagues are pulling their hair out at the moment to try to recover this situation… ». He is one of the specialists who for a long time have decried the fact that companies have allowed their employees to work from home with tools, originally, personal. For him: "To do so without pretensions from a security point of view is a catastrophe."

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