What started as a temporary change in 2020 has now become the new normal: remote work is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
Kitchen tables became makeshift workstations and businesses soon learned that there is indeed value in allowing staff to work from home. The remote work model is now an integral part of working culture moving forward. The challenge, now, is keeping remote workers productive while also providing a secure work environment. Businesses must put measures into place to minimize security risks and harmful data breaches, whether employees are working from their basement or a local coffee shop.
As more and more employees resort to working from home, establishing security practices for working remotely is critical. Whether you are onboarding a new employee or reviewing proper security protocols with existing staff, it’s crucial to keep in mind some basic security practices.
Below are some helpful tips for any organization to follow in order to strengthen and secure their company’s data when some (or in some cases, all) team members work remotely.
Security In A Remote Work Model:
1. Provide Security Awareness Training
An aware workforce is a more secure workforce. By providing formal cybersecurity education to your employees, you can help safeguard their accounts against common and insidious cyber threats like phishing, ransomware, malware, and more. In fact, since the pandemic began and with more people working from home, cyber threats have increasingly become more sophisticated. Here are some of the most rampant security issues affecting remote workers:
- Third-party software vulnerabilities: let employees know that they are vulnerable even within their own software.
- Social engineering: Social engineering utilizes deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that can then be used for fraudulent purposes.
- Ransomware: Attackers use data-encrypting programs to disrupt and destroy business processes, and/or also threaten to publish personal data if payment isn’t made to them.
The best way to keep your employees from falling victim to these cyber threats is to equip them with basic security policies and procedures to follow. Security awareness training also creates a more proactive and secure mindset and culture that prioritizes the protection of your company’s sensitive information and data.
2. Keep Work Devices Separate from Personal Devices
Although it may seem obvious, not everyone knows that using personal devices for work comes with inherent security risks that make data vulnerable. While it may be tempting or more convenient for employees to use their personal devices for work, especially when on the go, it’s always better for employees to use their company-provided laptops and mobile devices.
Typically, your IT department will (and should) be running regular security updates, antivirus scans, and implementing a plethora of other security measures in the background. The same cannot be said of your remote workers’ personal devices; as a result, they are far more vulnerable to network threats. Bottom line: personal devices are not safe for use in work-related tasks.
3. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
One of the main things that make it easy for cybercriminals to access sensitive data (like emails and passwords) is unsecured home networks. The solution? A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is similar to a firewall and helps to protect remote workers online while enabling them to have the same security, functionality, and appearance as if they were within the company network. In essence, a VPN hides the worker’s IP address on a public internet connection, so their online actions are nearly untraceable.
VPNs improve online privacy; therefore, remote workers should use a VPN at all times for work-related activities and when accessing company information remotely.
4.Avoid Public Wi-Fi
Although it can seem more enjoyable to work from a public space such as a coffee shop or a library, Wi-Fi networks in public spaces are even less secure than home networks. Working from a public space opens employees up to hackers who are on the same network. It is best to warn remote workers not to work from a coffee shop or other public space unless it is absolutely necessary.
5.Ensure Secure Password Practices
Another often-overlooked security feature is a strong password. Unfortunately, human nature often prompts workers to write down and re-use the same passwords for multiple websites, and choose easy-to-remember, simple passwords. This poor security practice is a serious issue because passwords are the first line of defence in the security of almost every computer, website, phone, or mobile device.
Ensuring passwords are strong and secure is even more important when working remotely. A good rule of thumb is that passwords should be long, strong, and unique: aim for at least 12 characters consisting of a mix of numbers, symbols, and capital and lower-case letters. Your employees should also add a password screen every time they access a laptop or other device; this makes it harder for a third party to access sensitive data should a device ever fall into the wrong hands.
Businesses have learned many lessons as they worked their way through the pandemic, not the least of which is the important role of security for their at-home workforces. To ensure your remote employees work productively and work securely, we recommend you begin with the security best practices we outlined above.
Need help getting your remote workers set up with cybersecurity in mind? OnSite Geeks is well versed in creating strategic security solutions that provide robust network protection and are tailored to suit the needs of your company. Contact us today and let’s work together to make your business more secure.
BLURB:
What started as a temporary change in 2020 has now become the new normal: remote work is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
The challenge, now, is keeping remote workers productive while also providing a secure work environment. Businesses must put measures into place to minimize security risks and harmful data breaches, whether employees are working from their basement or a local coffee shop.
Check out our blog post to get some helpful tips any organization can follow in order to strengthen and secure their company’s data when some or all team members work remotely.