Euan Birch, Security Operations Lead at Proact UK
How are we protecting our customers at this troubling time?
It’s been an interesting turn of events. On the 12th of March 2020, I was questioned by my colleagues about the Coronavirus. The panic buying had begun, friends and family were beginning to self-isolate, all sport was being cancelled and yet there was still an air of calm about the office. There was a feeling that we were going to be alright, that we were prepared and that should the government take drastic steps we would be ready.
We were very aware that our senior leadership team were in constant contact about the developing world events caused by COVID-19. For our services teams it was keep calm and carry on, as we prepared for the inevitable business continuity plans to be communicated. We’ve remained committed to our usual excellent standards.
We’ve adapted our working practices and changed our processes, but we’re still operating a tight ship and we’re confident in what we are doing. We are assured that we will continue to deliver excellence in the face of adversity.
The adversity that we face is, undoubtedly, uncertainty. We all have loved ones, friends, family, colleagues and countless people we see day-to-day who we know are at risk.
There’s the feeling that this will leave a lasting impact on us all for decades to come, but our Proact family will be there to support each other through this difficult time. This is scary and it is going to affect each and every person, not just in Proact but across the world. That’s why we’ve taken measures to ensure we do our upmost to keep people safe, secure and supported.
However, it is business as usual. We’ve seen threat actors lean on this crisis as an opportunity for extortion. We are already aware of home workers being targeted by attackers, as cyber criminals use home WiFi routers to access secure networks opening a new risk to the business.
We’ve seen websites setup to display Coronavirus charts that instead deliver Malware to the victim’s system. We’ve also seen specially crafted phishing emails trying to exploit anxiety amongst the vulnerable.
At Proact we are protecting our customers. We’re working as hard as ever and we’re keeping businesses secure during these troubling times. Every single day I feel that air of confidence.
Although we are looking at a whole new world today compared to a week ago, I’ve seen Proact adapt again and again before this, and I see Proact successfully adapting to this in the upcoming weeks and months. I’m delighted that my colleagues have pulled together, and I’m certain we will reach the other side stronger as a business, as a family.
It’s business as usual for us, and we want to make sure it’s business as usual for you too.
