INTRODUCTION

The COVID‐19 pandemic is causing massive amounts of disruption the world over. Governments have been issuing Orders and passing Legislation to restrict in–person contact and enforce social distancing. Some operations that have been allowed to continue have chosen to close or work remotely from the workplace as much as possible. This means that people are now attempting to "carry on business" remotely from their homes.

Many businesses have radically altered their methods of operating to become more digital. People working from home have been linking to the workplace servers and videoconferencing for meetings and hearings. People have been communicating more by electronic messaging (such as emails or text messages) than was previously the case. Many businesses are increasing or facilitating the sale of their products or provision of their services online. There is an increased reliance on online ordering of products followed by delivery or curbside pickup. As the Conference Board of Canada puts it:1

With governments and organizations enforcing social distancing to curb the spread of COVID‐19, businesses and consumers are relying more on digital solutions for economic and social activities. Online conferencing, e‐commerce, social media, entertainment streaming and other online service companies are facing unprecedented demand.

It is crucial for organizations to understand the various digital tools that are available, and to weigh their respective risks and benefits simply to survive. Pretty much any business or organization has had to focus on personnel working remotely from home. Thus the pandemic has highlighted the key role that digital technologies can play in assisting organizations to survive and to build resiliency for the future.

Adaptations being implemented to deal with the pandemic are not likely to be temporary or of short duration for at least two reasons: First, it is uncertain how long the pandemic (including government restrictions and orders) will be necessary. "Health experts suggest the virus could stick around and become endemic in the human population, like influenza".2 A vaccine could take 12 to 18 months to develop. Second, the changes to digital operations may prove to enhance the efficiency and security of the organization. It makes sense that at least some of the adaptive measures undertaken to weather the storm will prove useful even after the current disruptions have ended. The pandemic is causing organizations to rethink their operations such that many cyber and other measures they have adopted may be continued after the pandemic ends.3 The Conference Board of Canada notes as follows4 :

We expect consumers and businesses to rely more on digital solutions after the crisis than they did before. Businesses that can take advantage of online platforms and other digital technologies will be in a better position to handle supply chain disruptions, both now and in the future.

Accordingly, "the ongoing disruptions may be a wake‐up call for organizations to invest in digitalising their operations and introduce online consumer platforms".5 The pandemic "could also accelerate the adoption of other digital tools" which can "reduce costs for businesses" as well as enable small and medium‐sized organizations to access global markets more easily.6

The bottom line is that organizations that survive the current crisis will not want to simply go back to doing things the way they did before. As Frederick Nietzsche said "that which does not kill us, makes us stronger".

Unfortunately, the society‐wide shift towards working remotely gives rise to increased new cyber risks, including exposure to liability claims. Hackers and other cyber criminals have not gone on vacation but are taking advantage of opportunities created as the legitimate world struggles to find cyber solutions on an urgent basis. Many authors have commented on this:

Cybercriminals love a crisis and COVID‐19 is no different. In the last several weeks, cyber‐crime has increased exponentially as hackers seek to take advantage of the migration to a remote workplace.7

The COVID‐19 pandemic has proven to be an extremely disruptive event, affecting all components of society. The IT world is not immune. The pandemic has forced both public and private sectors to rethink how, when, and where work is performed. Traditional models of office versus home‐based work environments have been completely inverted; in many cases, most employees are now working remotely. This inversion has caused IT management, implementers, and clients to scramble to adapt to a new way of working. Unfortunately, this rapid transformation presents both new and unique opportunities for threat actors to take advantage of. The entire IT hierarchy, from management to client, must be made explicitly aware of this fact and take every precaution possible.8

Footnotes

1 Conference Board, p. 8

2 Conference Board, p.5

3 Conference Board, p.3

4 Conference Board, p.3, and see also p.8

5 Conference Board, p.8 and see also p.6

6 Conference Board, p.8

7 Kantrowitz

8 Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Advice and Guidance)

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