The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more companies managing remote employee workforces than ever before. The increase in remote working has been a prime target for cyber attackers as most companies don’t have a strong security posture. Outlook 2 factor authentication can protect you against these cyber attacks.
Although some workplaces are back to in-person or a hybrid model, many companies plan to keep their structure like this for a while. Companies are deliberately hiring remote workers even though the pandemic restrictions are not in place anymore. This gives companies the capability to let their employees work from anywhere and also hire international employees.
Remote work is an important way to keep your workplace growing, but it can pose a big cyber risk for your organization. Companies with remote employees worry that remote work would increase the time to identify and contain a breach, while others believe that remote work will increase the cost of a data breach.
Remote employees, while they have the freedom to work from anywhere, increase an organization’s attack surface and can be more difficult to monitor than those who work on-site, which may result in cutting corners when it comes to cybersecurity.
When keeping your access safe from anywhere, here are a few things you should consider:
Beware of Personal Devices
A common concern is that when employees work from home, they tend to use their own personal devices. These tend to be less secure than devices issued by the workplace because their software may not be updated, security applications may not be updated or installed, and passwords may be weak. Ideally, your organization should be issuing its own company devices to its employees to ensure your access is secure. If it’s not possible, then your organization’s IT department should tighten the security on the employees’ personal devices.
Keep Data Stored in the Cloud
Your team will likely be tempted to store their work data on their own devices at home. However, due to the insecure nature of home wi-fi networks, this should be discouraged. Instead, you want to keep your data stored in a secure cloud storage or use applications that support a virtual private network (VPN) for remote employees. You’ll also want to verify that your cloud service provider has never had a data breach themselves to ensure maximum security.
Educate Your Employees on Cybersecurity
Since IT is not available to go to everyone’s home and segment every employee’s router, it’s important that you educate your employees about network security in their own homes. Training your workers on how to set up their network security in their own homes to make sure it’s safe to use is crucial to securing your access. By doing this, employees can prevent cybercriminals from hacking work devices by targeting family members.
Having a safe connection for your remote employees makes all the difference in your organization’s cybersecurity posture. When you have a safe connection from virtually anywhere, your employees will feel much safer accessing your company’s private information in a remote setting. The best practice a company can take is issuing a company device and, if that’s not possible, configuring employees’ personal devices and wi-fi networks to be secure. Your organization should also install a VPN to ensure that company data is protected against unauthorized users. Cloud security is one of the best ways to secure data and should be utilized in a company’s infrastructure. Although remote work is the best initiative to save money for your company, it can be a risky option if you’re not properly prepared and equipped with two-factor authentication.
