Work From Home Is Complicating Cybersecurity Investigations

Before the pandemic, Redpoint Cybersecurity, a subsidiary of New York-based accounting and advisory firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, did roughly 85% of its work at clients’ offices, Chief Operating Officer Tab Bradshaw said. The proportions have flipped: about 95% of the incident-response team’s work is now offsite, he said. The company works mainly with small or medium-size businesses.

Redpoint designed an internal forensic tool to collect data from devices remotely, and invested in cloud-based software that allowed for penetration testing, or simulated cyberattacks, via the cloud, Mr. Bradshaw said. Even so, coordinating through virtual meetings, coupled with a surge in ransomware designed to cover attackers’ tracks, has slowed down forensic analysis, he said.

“Incident response, by nature, is always easier on-site,” Mr. Bradshaw said. Security teams have better visibility of computer networks and better access to hardware inside centralized offices, he said.

Read the complete article from The Wall Street Journal.