Office Hours: Webroot and COVID-19 May 12, 2020


Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Hello Webroot Community, 

I wanted to create a space for us to come together and discuss Webroot and COVID-19.

Consider this our office hours. 

In case you might have missed it, we created a page here where we’ll keep a running list of articles, blog posts, and other pieces of content about our COVID-19 response.

If you have specific questions on what we’re doing as a company during the pandemic and our tips for how you can stay cyber resilient in these uncertain times. 

Please add your questions below or join us Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM MT.


This topic has been closed for comments

19 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Hello again and welcome to this weeks’ Webroot Office Hours

We’ll get started in a little bit but if you have any questions, please go ahead and ask. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

To get us started, our first question comes from Daniel B. 

How is Webroot managing employee motivation? 

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Next, Doug T. has a question about Customer Support:

How fully staffed is Webroot support during COVID-19 quarantine? 

 

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +3

 

How is Webroot managing employee motivation? 

 

We are wonderfully supported by our new owners OpenText and Mark our CEO who are briefing us at least once per week about what is happening and the choices being made to help employees and the business during these challenging times. Also our Site Leaders and Managers are holding regular MS Teams meetings both with individuals and in our work groups, and Webroot staff also are holding informal get togethers. So morale is high given the circumstances and we are involved, informed and focused.

Userlevel 7
Badge +24

 

How is Webroot managing employee motivation? 

 

We are wonderfully supported by our new owners OpenText and Mark our CEO who are briefing us at least once per week about what is happening and the choices being made to help employees and the business during these challenging times. Also our Site Leaders and Managers are holding regular MS Teams meetings both with individuals and in our work groups, and Webroot staff also are holding informal get togethers. So morale is high given the circumstances and we are involved, informed and focused.

I’ve also been hosting weekly gaming sessions where I stream jackboxTV trivia and employees can win prizes!

Userlevel 4
Badge +3

 

How fully staffed is Webroot support during COVID-19 quarantine? 

 

We are fully staffed at this time. Both our telephone support and the services of our Sales Engineers are working completely normally.

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Ethan K writes in: 

How do you see BYOD and home device usage affecting a company's security during this difficult time?

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Eric M. asks: 

Do you think telecommuting will become more mainstream after lockdown restrictions are lifted; with employers realizing the cost benefits of it?

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Teri M. wants to know: 

How has the WFH initiative changed the target for hackers and malicious threats? 

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +63

Q: When will Webroot get a Mac Client that works as it should on all supported Mac OS’s? We see allot of issues with the Mac Client and Catalina on the Community!

 

https://community.webroot.com/search?q=Mac%20Client%20and%20Catalina%20and%20Webroot

 

Thanks,

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Q: When will Webroot get a Mac Client that works as it should on all supported Mac OS’s? We see allot of issues with the Mac Client and Catalina on the Community!

 

Thanks,

Let me ping @PVaddi for you. 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Ethan K writes in: 

How do you see BYOD and home device usage affecting a company's security during this difficult time?

 

 

I believe the biggest change is this: VPN’s and off-site security measures like DNS blocking and antivirus solutions are more necessary than ever. Companies need to begin rolling out these protections to all of their employees otherwise they’re going to be risking a lot of vulnerable data.

Userlevel 7
Badge +24

Ethan K writes in: 

How do you see BYOD and home device usage affecting a company's security during this difficult time?

 

 

It’s a big question that every business to ask. if employees are using their own computers to access business data, there likely isn’t the same security software on the machine or group policies that are as secure. There has to be at least some security on the BYOD, and businesses need to implement VPNs to access any sensitive information. Also keeping up with training and phishing simulation is going to help make sure the security posture is good while everyone is remote. 

Here are some more tips

https://www.webroot.com/blog/2020/03/19/staying-cyber-resilient-during-a-pandemic/

Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Eric M. asks: 

Do you think telecommuting will become more mainstream after lockdown restrictions are lifted; with employers realizing the cost benefits of it?

 

 

I think it will most definitely become more mainstream. I think this for a few reasons:

  1. Companies will realize the huge cost benefit to having their employees work from home. Saves costs on building leases, electricity, internet, office perks, etc.
  2. Many companies in the tech sector see a noticeable increase in productivity when their employees work from home.
    1. It increases quality of life for many people by cutting down on commute times, etc. 
  3. This pandemic will likely have multiple waves that will affect us until a vaccine is made widely available. And it won’t be the only pandemic that can/will affect society. The potential for more widespread sickness may cause companies to rethink their office policy in a big way.
Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Hey everyone, I know that @TylerM is working on finishing up the last couple of questions but that’s about all we’ll be able to get to today. I can’t believe it’s already 1:30!

If you have questions between now and next week, be on the lookout for the thread (I’ll post it here in a second) and you can them there. 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +24

Eric M. asks: 

Do you think telecommuting will become more mainstream after lockdown restrictions are lifted; with employers realizing the cost benefits of it?

 

 

 Absolutely. With all the restrictions to offices even when they are allowed to open up, with masks and social distancing. It’s going to be a long time before we’re back to normal office behavior. I’m sure this will mean that many will still choose to work from home even with an open office. One thing is for sure, and that’s that no one will look down upon working from home ever again!

Userlevel 7
Badge +24

Teri M. wants to know: 

How has the WFH initiative changed the target for hackers and malicious threats? 

 

 

It’s ramped up some campaigns for sure. RDP brute force has seen grown since there is now over a 40% increase in unsecured RDP connections since the start of the year. Everyone is setting up machines to be accessible remotely, but they aren’t doing it securely. 

 

Some big malware campaigns like the emotet botnet have adapted to use phishing lures that are covid19 related as well. We’ve seen a 2000% jump in malware named after zoom ie “zoom_meetings12050.exe” and of the 20k new websites with COVID or CORONAVIRUS in the domain name, a whopping 2% are malicious

Userlevel 7
Badge +63

Q: When will Webroot get a Mac Client that works as it should on all supported Mac OS’s? We see allot of issues with the Mac Client and Catalina on the Community!

 

Thanks,

Let me ping @PVaddi for you. 

 


No disrespect to Pawani but we need to hear from someone that knows like a Developer because many are knocking there heads and we can’t help them. https://community.webroot.com/webroot-secureanywhere-for-macs-18 things tried doesn’t work.

Userlevel 7
Badge +48

Thanks to everyone for joining us today and to @GeorgeA , @TylerM , and @khumphrey for helping us answer questions. 

If anyone has any additional questions, be sure to stop by next Tuesday at 1:00 PM MT. or add your questions here and we’ll do our best to answer all of them.

Until next week, stay resilient!