MailGuard Partners Blog

The move to remote and hybrid working environments, although unprecedented in its timing, has been inevitable. A global pandemic, characterised by social restrictions, has forced businesses across the world to make a rapid digital transformation to support remote working. In parallel, we have witnessed a sharp escalation of cybercrime, highlighting the importance of boosting cyber resilience for our customers.

“By any measure, 2020 was the worst year ever when it comes to ransomware and related extortion events. And if we don’t break the back of this cycle, a problem that’s already bad is going to get worse.”

- Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), April 2021

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, and with more businesses operating remotely, the global scourge of cybercrime became even more calamitous in 2020.

While launching Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report earlier this year, Tom Burt, Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust succinctly summarised the importance of “shared information and partnerships” in helping businesses remain protected amid a period of heightened cyber risk:  

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve, uncertainty has become the new norm, with many businesses grappling to keep their people and their data secure.