4 Remote Working Security Best Practices

According to Upwork’s “Future of Workforce Pulse Report”, by 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels.

The transition to remote working has left many businesses scrambling to revise their employee policies and security protocols or establish new ones if they didn’t previously exist. With companies moving toward allowing hybrid or regular remote working, advanced safeguards are needed to protect against cyberattacks and data breaches.

Remote workers are prime targets for security threats. They’re often the source of network security incidents that can ripple quickly through the rest of the organization. Even if you don’t have remote employees, mobile devices like smartphones and laptops pose security risks.

Don’t allow employees to check personal email on company computers.

Spam emails are getting more sophisticated and cybercriminals can tailor fake phishing emails to each individual. If an employee clicks on a link in a phishing email from their personal email on their work computer, the security protections that have been put in place will be rendered useless.

Harden your systems.

• Upgrade servers and programs
• Updates are created for a reason and don’t do any good if they aren’t installed.
• Uninstall non-essential programs:
• Every program on your computer is a potential way for an attacker to get in.
• Make sure the user isn’t an admin: If the user is a standard user, then an attacker will also be a standard user and can’t do as much damage.

Require remote workers to use a VPN connection when working from home.

A VPN establishes a secure connection so that all your data is routed through an encrypted tunnel.

• A VPN makes your computer more secure against external attacks – it ensures you are protected just as if you are sitting in your office
• Separate networks (VLAN)

Discourage remote working from public WiFi.

• A VPN is a tunnel that secures your computer but if a door is left open, then something can get through
• Using public WiFi (e.g. coffee shop, airport, etc.) means you’re at a lower level than the VPN, making yourself susceptible to attacks
• Use a hotspot instead

If your company doesn’t have a written policy in place that covers actions regarding cybersecurity, you strongly consider creating one. A company security policy provides guidelines of do’s and don’ts and assures that everyone in your organization takes IT security seriously to safeguard your data and information. Every company, whether small or large, should have an action plan in place so your company can react in the event of an intrusion or security breach. Auxiom can help you with Security Assessments, Disaster Recovery Planning, and more.

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