Could The IT Help Desk Be The Biggest Security Risk?

As you may not know, helpdesks are often considered one of the easiest ways to network.Since many help desk technicians are not trained to identify social engineering attacks, security experts often refer to help desks as the number one security vulnerability in the business. The user only practices what has been trained and will help solve the user problem. More than you can imagine, help desk service agents are the target of malicious phishing campaigns.

Why do some people who are help desk technicians have easy access to protected data, not accounting or human resources?

Help desk technicians have access to all your data. They can access the computer remotely, to help resolve computer headaches. But have you visited this stage again? What happens if the help desk calls for phishing or business data? Will the technicians be willing to help the person to the letter? Will they let you go through some hoops to prove who you are?

Nearly 20% of employers' phishing help desk workers were unable to protect corporate data when asked to access certain user machines.

Worse still, almost 70% of the support services do not supervise the technicians. That is, it does not track call logs or record authentication changes. Many help desk support services do not have enough information about recent system updates. Furthermore, most helpdesks lack adequate documentation processes and therefore have little infrastructure to effectively assess where the violation occurred.

Today I would like to talk about some basic security measures that your help desk NEEDS should have to prevent your business from getting caught in serious violation.

Log Help Desk Calls - If you are not tracking help desk calls, you will have no idea when the caller is stealing information and how your call to the help desk contributed to the violation. There is no way to re-evaluate. Calls to the help desk should be monitored for security concerns, as well as to provide feedback to the help desk team on how to handle the calls. Note: Social engineers try many tricks (screaming, crying, persuasive) to destroy technicians. Identifying where the equipment is vulnerable is the key to ensuring that the equipment does not crack under pressure, or at least assessing whether the technician is following a documented call processing process.

Use a phone designed for call centers. With professional equipment, a technician can easily record a call and replay customer interaction after the call ends. If a technician has fallen into social engineering, having a proper phone system can help staff troubleshoot security issues before they become uncontrolled breaches.

Communicate the role of the help desk in updates: Effective and continuous communication with the help desk team ensures that you are aware of possible user problems before someone calls you. Best team to identify users and fraud.

Call me back: When a user calls and requires them to change their network credentials, permissions, or to change their own password, call them back on a documented line to make sure the technician really has the right people. It's a good idea to make sure talking to you. Scammers can be smart and can hide your phone number, so setting up caller ID on your system may not be enough.