Total number of blind force attacks jumped from 1 million attacks in February 2020 to 2.6 million in March 2020, a significant increase of 162 percent
Telework or working from home continues to expose businesses and employees to new security risks and threats as the battle with the global pandemic continue. One of the most common attacks are attacks on “remote access protocols” that employees use to access the resources of their companies and organizations from their homes.
Egypt witnessed more than 35 million attacks with blind force in 2020 against Remote Desktop Access Protocols (RDPs) according to cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
The total number of blind force attacks on remote access protocols jumped from more than 1 million attacks in February 2020 to 2.6 million in March 2020, a significant increase of 162 percent, coinciding with the announcement of safety restrictions and precautionary divergences in the country, according to remote aggregated measurements at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky experts indicated that these attacks are witnessing an upward trend in Egypt, as their numbers reached 6.7 million attacks in January and February 2021 combined.
RDP is the most common remote desktop access protocol and is used to access Windows machines and servers.
Blind force attacks on this protocol have risen to 3.56 billion attacks worldwide in the wake of the widespread global shift to remote work.
With attacks on RDP increasing, a recent Kaspersky survey revealed that 83 percent of employees in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region never want to revert to traditional working models before the pandemic, despite concerns related to remote work.
This demonstrates strong incentives for cybercriminals to continue their disruptive activity, which makes it imperative for companies of all sizes to protect their remote employees and take care to take improved security measures.
While the pandemic has changed the way companies and organizations operate, it has also provided an opportunity for individuals to broaden their knowledge. 68 percent of employees in the region see the importance of maintaining or refining their capabilities to achieve better performance in their current jobs or perhaps consider making a change in their careers.
The report reveals that more than half of employees (57 percent) see technical skills as the most in need of development.
Emad Haffar, head of technical experts in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region at Kaspersky, said that the shift to work will remain in place, noting that when companies begin to think about reopening their facilities to return to work, they will continue to include remote work in their operating model.
“In light of continuing remote work, attacks on remote desktop access protocols are likely to continue at a rather high rate, especially after the year 2020 demonstrated the need for companies to strengthen their security measures, and that the best place to start is to ensure protection Stronger for remote access protocols,” he added.
