The more people (and devices) access your company's mainframe, the more essential it is that you reduce potential threats. One of the simplest and most reliable ways for hackers to infiltrate a business is through email.
It may seem like users have control in an email setting, but in the wrong hands, a bad email can compromise a system quickly. IT modernization programs should allow businesses to expand their users without also increasing the risk of exposure.
An article for CIO recently looked at the breadth of email-based schemes. Despite some very high-profile phishing attacks last year that hit companies like The Onion and the Associated Press, email security, a big priority for devices, remains lacking.
That's what the security firm Agari says in a report cited by the source. Banks, healthcare and the travel industry have all faced the consequences of underprotected email. The CEO of Agari, Patrick Peterson, said that the travel industry in particular has proven a fruitful ground for hackers. McAffee also recently found that 80 percent of a group of 16,000 polled business professionals fell for at least one part of its anti-phishing quiz.
"Email is one of the criminal's best friends, and one of the most common ways that criminals use to go after their victims," he said. "As criminals started to look for a new weak link, they found that travel was incredibly successful."
Companies should be excited about mainframe modernization, but not to the extent that they forget about potential threats, especially something as common as email. Fortunately, screen sharing in a browser-friendly environment reduces fears of device hijacking by placing all functions in an area that the company really can control.