The rise of remote work has shown that cybersecurity concerns are no longer limited to the physical office. But what would your organization do, for example, if a user lost a laptop at an airport? The truth is, that occurrence is a lot more common than you think.
Cybersecurity work from home principles have to work in tandem with each other in order to propel your business forward. With that in mind, here are five remote work security tips for working remotely with cybersecurity.
5 Cybersecurity Tips for Working From Home
1. Begin With Remote Work Network Security Training
Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report showed that 85% of breaches involved the human element. This means that it isn’t just limited to random cyber attacks; your employees play a role in data breaches as well. The best way to combat this is through new and ongoing cybersecurity training procedures.
Cybersecurity remote work policies must become a top priority for your entire organization as a result. It must be made clear that to work remotely, network security must be taken seriously.
Are Your Security Policies Stifling Workflows?
Find out how we help businesses maximize security while minimizing end-user effort.
Training also addresses fears around reporting potential security incidents. Sometimes a remote employee is afraid that reporting a security breach will mean that their employee performance record is at risk, or that they could face termination if they were involved in any way.
Making employees feel supported in a remote work environment is crucial for properly addressing remote work security concerns.
Cultivating a culture that encourages proactively reporting security issues makes it harder for social engineering, phishing attacks, and other security threats to hide very long.
2. Update Security Policies to Focus on Remote Work IT Security
Remote work is considered a top retention strategy by leading organizations today, and skilled professionals want to be able to become location independent.
Rather than prohibit working from home, it’s time to update your company’s policies for information security for remote work. Every remote worker with a company-issued laptop needs to be aware of their responsibilities for keeping it secure.
Physical two-factor authentication is an effective defense against threats and is easier to implement. Additionally, a study from researchers at Brigham Young University observed that implementing two-factor authentication does not reduce system usability.
Given that observation, this is not a complicated addition for users logging into private company systems daily. A secure remote environment upholds remote work information security principles.
3. Upgrade Equipment and Systems to Minimize Risks
Upgrading your equipment should be a key element of your remote work security policy. Think about the ways that users will connect to your private systems from their laptops and other mobile devices.
Even while working outside of the office, your business can still be affected by computer security remote work issues.
For example, are your employees’ home Wi-Fi connections updated with all of the necessary security upgrades? Hackers look for the point of least resistance in order to compromise systems, and routers on home networks are often overlooked.
According to Intelligent CIO magazine, the most common router attacks include denial of service (DOS), routing table poisoning (RTP), and hit and run attacks (HAR).
Cloud-based attacks are also on the rise, but using point-to-point encryption is vital in managing cybersecurity risks.
ITSco Helps Businesses Stay Secure Remotely and On-Site
- 25+ Years of Engineering Excellence and Exceptional IT
- Develop a Cybersecurity Strategy That Fits Your Needs
- Comprehensive Cybersecurity Monitoring and Compliance
4. Devise and Deploy Remote Work Best Practices
Onboarding new users is a great way to begin conversations around cybersecurity, but what happens when employees or contractors leave the organization?
It’s important to have plans to close what can become an overlooked gap in your security.
Risks increase when employees leave the company, as they may still have some proprietary data in their possession. Does your business have a policy to terminate access to the internal network in place when employees leave? It’s also important to ensure that former employees return their work devices, as this is critical to information security.
5. Stay Updated on the Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape
There are plenty of unknowns in cybersecurity, but there are some constants. For example, we know that cybercriminals are very persistent. We also know that with training, equipment upgrades, and ongoing security monitoring, your staff can be just as persistent.
The key here isn’t to panic. Instead, you should take ownership of the best practices for cybersecurity, remote work, and move your organization towards constantly adjusting systems.
Security engineers both inside and outside of the organization (if contracted) will undoubtedly work to protect your company data. However, it is also essential to ensure that employees do their part to protect sensitive information.
Enhance Remote Work IT Security With a Proven Partner
Understanding remote work best practices and their cybersecurity implications are vital to ensuring a seamless remote work experience while ensuring security practices are followed and updated as necessary.
If you need help with developing or improving security strategies for your remote work environment, ITSco is ready to assist you.
Backed by over 25 years of experience, our cybersecurity experts can help you improve remote work information security with training, protection, and more.
Get in touch today to find out how we help businesses like yours prepare for the security challenges of remote work without excessive administrative and cost overheads.
