Workspaces are continually evolving, and more and more people are working from home. A recent survey reveals that 84% of businesses will likely increase remote work after COVID-19, despite spiked security concerns associated with working from home.
But how can you ensure that your business stays safe? Here are five tips to help you strengthen your remote working security and keep your data safe.
Train your employees
Being able to identify and avoid potential threats is a vital part of preventing cyber attacks. Considering that human error is the cause of most security breaches, it would be an excellent idea for you as a business owner to invest in employee training.
Some of the cybersecurity tips you can teach your staff includes:
- Typing URLs into the search bar instead of clicking on links
- Spotting suspicious emails and attachments and avoiding them
- Setting strong passwords for their accounts
- Using a different password for each of their accounts
You can also hold regular training sessions with a cybersecurity specialist. This will go a long way towards making your employees more tech-savvy and able to steer clear of security risks.
Use secure devices
One of the major security issues with your employees working remotely is the security of the devices they use to access your company’s database.
If your employees are using their own computer and mobile devices to work from home, you should ensure that the devices are secure. Have your staff update their firewall and antivirus software to improve their devices’ security and minimize the likelihood of a cyber attack.
Better still, you can provide your employees with secure devices, especially if they handle sensitive data.
Have a disaster recovery plan
One of the most critical steps to take before you have your team working remotely is to create a disaster recovery plan.
Having a remote workforce doesn’t mean that your business cannot be affected by ransomware attacks and network outages. Luckily, there are steps you can take to avoid a lengthy downtime. Here are a few:
- Back up your data as often as possible. If your business suffers a ransomware attack or network outage, you will have to restore your devices to the most recent backup. If you don’t do regular back-ups, you might end up losing vital business data.
- Ensure that all your IT and the executive staff know the proper steps to take if a network breach happens. This will help minimize downtime by ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Use the principle of least privilege
The principle of least privilege states that an employee should only have access to company resources that are critical to his ability to perform his duties effectively.
Therefore, if an employee does not need access to specific files in your company, they should not have it. It also means that you should reconsider giving admin privileges to those who do not truly need them.
Limit access to your businesses’ sensitive information and use strong passwords to prevent user accounts from being compromised. Additionally, log in all access activities and keep regularly monitoring so you can detect any unauthorized access attempts.
Use a VPN
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is software that you and your employees can use together with public and home WI-FIs to ensure that all your internet traffic is encrypted before it goes to and from your office’s network or along a public internet signal.
Before information is allowed through your network firewall, a VPN will authenticate it to ensure that it is encrypted. VPN software also ensures that your network is still secure when employees communicate with each other, logging into programs, or sending information.
Final word
While working remotely comes with many perks, it also presents new cybersecurity challenges for most businesses. The tips we have discussed in this post will keep you and your employees better prepared to avoid cyber attacks. Remember to also implement physical security measures such as not using public Wi-Fi and never leaving their devices open after use.