Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the many advances in technology over the last 40 years, the modern workforce is now able to work from anywhere! With so many employees working from home permanently, it’s crucial that your business implements the proper security measures to keep company data safe throughout these changing times.
Since working from home is not likely to stop any time soon, coupled with the fact that there is an increase in the amount of malware attacks, working from home has become more risky and requires proper security measures to be in place.
What Security Challenges Does Working from Home Present?
Remote work presents a variety of security challenges, including:
Security becomes everyone’s responsibility.
When working from home, each employee becomes responsible for following best practices when it comes to security. This is easier if all employees have the same resources, tools, and skills needed to identify security threats. However, this is not often the case, which is why it is crucial for employees to understand the security policies that should be followed. Organizations that they work for need to provide their employees with the tools and training needed to understand what those policies are, why they are important to follow, and to security risks to watch out for.
Scams are only becoming more crafty.
Oftentimes, employees are unable to identify scams such as spoofing, phishing, fake alerts, and more, making it easy for them to fall prey to such attacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the first half of 2020 was filled with COVID scams, with four out of 10 COVID-themed emails being tagged as spam. Cybercriminals impersonated health, government, and financial institutions.
Remote employees often use unsecured public wi-fi.
In many cases, employees logged on to their work devices using an unsecured public wifi-fi networks. This is still a major concern for businesses throughout the world, especially if employees are logging into the internet from their homes instead of their offices.
Remote Work Security Procedures to Implement
Whether you have multiple remote employees or you plan to make the transition to work from home, we recommend implementing the following best practices:
Create and enforce a data security company policy.
Typically, a security incident is caused by an employee error. To help to avoid these issues, you need to establish a data security policy that clearly outlines security protocols that your employees are required to comply with. You also need to include consequences for non-compliance.
Have employees sign off that they have read and understand this policy and keep a record so you can hold them accountable.
Make sure employees have the right tools and technology.
You need to ensure your employees have the resources and tools they need to remain compliant with your security policy.
You need to make sure they have a VPN, password manager, antivirus software, etc. With the right tools, they can spend more time working and less time worrying about security incidents.
Supervise the use of personal devices for business.
In many cases, organizations allow employees to utilize their own devices for work-related matters. While this is convenient, it can lead to certain security risks for employees. In many cases, personal devices are not protected by a password, and oftentimes the antivirus software is outdated. If you allow personal devices among employees, then you may want to restrict this to only employees in the office, requiring the workforce at home to use only employer-provided devices for work.
Avoid overloading the VPN.
VPN overloading can be a major security issue for the remote workforce. To avoid an overloaded VPN, follow these tips:
Use a VPN provider with a large server network
Use a VPN location that is close to your actual location
Use split tunneling to manage your VPN traffic
Use the VPN for specific services
Know who is using the VPN and when
Check that all internet connections are secure.
Do not allow the use of any unsecured wi-fi connections. If employees want to work in a public space, they should be required to use the company VPN to create a secure connection.
Require the use of multi-factor authentication.
Multi-factor authentication or MFA requires the user to provide various types of information to verify their identity. MFA employs a variety of techniques, such as security questions, push notifications, biometrics, and personal identification numbers.
Implement the use of strong passwords with all employees.
Weak passwords present a major risk to your company’s sensitive data. Employees should be educated about using strong and varied passwords and should be warned against reusing passwords.
They need to avoid using passwords with information that can be easily guessed, such as their first name or local football team.
Provide proper training and robust IT support.
When implementing solid remote work security measures, training employees is the key. All employees should be trained in cyber security awareness. The IT team also needs to be equipped to support your remote workforce with any security concerns.
Work with CMIT Solutions for Top Business Security in Pittsburgh
At CMIT Solutions, we are well-versed in a variety of cyber security solutions. Pittsburgh businesses can rely on us to implement security measures and monitor your business security, stepping in to resolve any security issues efficiently.
Contact us today to learn more!