Securing the Remote Workforce: Cybersecurity Best Practices

Remote work is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. For example, about 27% of employees in the USA work from home today, according to Zippia. However, companies with remote workers should provide an appropriate cybersecurity level to avoid information leakages and other essential problems.

The best way to do that is to hire a data protection officer with high qualifications. Such specialists can identify weaknesses in the security of your virtual environment and give useful recommendations on how to protect information. You may also take certain steps to strengthen your cybersecurity on your own.

Steps to Take For Secure Remote Work

1. Ensure the Security of Your Employees’ Home Wi-Fi Networks

Business owners should ask their workers to do the following steps:

1. Systematically update the router’s firmware. This approach helps to fix known vulnerabilities.
2. Enable WPA3 encryption. This action protects networks from hacking.
3. Come up with strong passwords for their Wi-Fi routers. According to Forbes, 70% of passcodes for home Wi-Fi networks are weak. It’s also advised to regularly update passwords.

Additionally, using secure devices is necessary. So, provide your employees with reliable anti-malware and antivirus applications. Moreover, remote workers should employ only licensed OSes that are updated regularly.

2. Provide Secure Remote Access

This includes using a VPN and an MFA (multi-factor authentication) implementation. The first one allows for encrypting data transmission. In this case, it becomes much more difficult to steal information. The introduction of MFA provides additional protection from unauthorized remote access.

Those companies using cloud services should ensure that information stored online is encrypted at rest and in transit. Moreover, setting corresponding limits on information access for employees in different positions is necessary. So, your workers should have the right to view only the information they need.

3. Scan Your Virtual Working Environment for Threats

You need to constantly monitor your endpoints and network traffic for suspicious activity. Specific security solutions are employed as part of such processes. Also, you should come up with a contingency plan in case of threat identification.

Extra Cybersecurity Tips

Among other essential recommendations, experts highlight the following ones:

• Hold regular training. Notify your remote workers about safety threats as part of the working process. Explain to them how to act in dangerous situations.
• Establishing MDM (mobile device management) and BYOD (bring your own device) policies. Create appropriate instructions and discuss them with your employees. Determine the terms of use of corporate resources (data, equipment, etc.).
• Making regular data backups. The latter requires you to introduce specific software for the automated copying of critical info. This allows for fast data recovery in the event of a loss. Also, specialists recommend testing information backups to ensure their efficiency and integrity.
• Physical safety maintenance. Ensure that nobody else can use your employees’ devices. This, for example, implies using PC access passwords. If your employees prefer working in public places, ask them to employ secure notebook bags and cable locks.

Finally, make sure that remote workers employ working devices only for business use.

Conclusion

Tech Monitor claims that 77% of employees consider remote work to boost their productivity. So, business owners may essentially improve their companies’ efficiencies by allowing for telecommuting. Moreover, entrepreneurs don’t have to rent working spaces in this case. This reduces corporate expenses.

The recommended steps for secure remote work include securing home Wi-Fi networks, providing secure remote access through VPN and multi-factor authentication, and regularly scanning the virtual working environment for threats. The overall goal is to safeguard information and prevent potential cybersecurity risks associated with remote work.