Certain cybersecurity dangers have increased in frequency with the rise in remote working. One major problem is that an IT team often handles office cybersecurity in most organizations. Due to the distant nature of a distributed workforce, employees must be more vigilant about cybersecurity risks.
Regardless of whether you as an employer or employee welcomed the cultural shift, the new hybrid working paradigm has presented both obstacles and opportunities. Many businesses overnight went from 0 to 100% of their workforce working remotely. This change presents enormous security difficulties. We’ve compiled a few fundamentals of cyber security for remote employees to fill that knowledge gap.
- People and their behavior
Businesses and their security teams must first concentrate on user and employee behavior. It’s critical to keep in mind that many staff are already stretched thin and frequently lack the time, motivation, or patience necessary to master new technologies from beginning.
- Teach your workers to never disclose information without first confirming the request, to be aware of the typical symptoms and risks of social engineering and phishing assaults, which have increased by 11%, per the 2021 DBIR.
- Train staff members to recognize phishing attack hallmarks including misspelled email addresses and peculiar URLs by using attack simulations.
- Broaden training and policies to cover a variety of attack surfaces, such as SMS, social media, and online games.
- Ensure that policies are current, including an AUP and a remote working policy that are simple to understand (Acceptable use policy).
- Applications being used
Over the past few years, the number of apps that support remote work has multiplied. With so many options available to businesses—from video tools to file-sharing applications, workflow management programs to employee wellbeing platforms—each new app an employee adopts creates a possible new attack surface for cybercriminals.
- Encrypt your device
Your information is kept safe by encryption on your devices because it inhibits unauthorized access. Encrypted files, for instance, making it far more difficult for a burglar or any other individual to access your data without the password if your laptop is stolen.
- To remotely lock access to, wipe data from, and recover backup data from a lost device, use mobile device management (MDM) software.
- Ensure that staff members schedule time each month to download security updates for all of their devices.
- Cloud and VPN
Remote working often means connecting your computer to the company’s Virtual Private Network (VPN connection) – but this, in turn, creates new home office safety ‘back doors’ that hackers could potentially expose. First and foremost, it’s essential to provide employees with work from home security tips and guidance or policies on being a secure remote worker. Companies should look for ways to make their VPN more secure.
Make sure all of your staff are using the cloud or server storage if your business depends on it. If you believe your staff is still storing data locally or is unaware of your storage service, speak with them to make sure they are aware of the centralized service.
There is no denying the growing popularity of remote work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more individuals than ever are working from home. Over the past few years, more and more businesses throughout the world have embraced remote and flexible working arrangements. However, a lot of recent remote hires are uninformed of the security concerns they suddenly encounter and lack clear instructions on how to keep their work safe. Let us help you in making sure you are safe and sound in the cyber world as well as remote working. Talk to us today!