After the issuance of movement restriction policies by the government to avoid the spread of coronavirus, organizations had no choice but to send people home. Most were in a hurry to get people up and working from home such that most resulted in advising some people to use their own devices. It is also highly likely that most overlooked the importance of cybersecurity.
Unfortunately, cybercriminals never rest and they are always looking for such opportunities to attack. While you had the IT department take care of cybersecurity issues when working in the office, the problem could have fallen squarely on you now. Not to worry, though, here we enlist 5 tech tips for cybersecurity as you work from.
Presented below are the top three cyber risks that organization need to address:
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- Use of Unsecured Wi-Fi Networks – Employees accessing Company networks using Wi-Fi from popular locations (such as a coffee shop) can be more susceptible to cyberattacks.
- Lack of Cybersecurity Awareness and Training – Ensuring that there is a training program in place for best practices on security is Paramount in defending against cybersecurity threats.
- Lack of Physical Security or Personal Use of Laptops – Leaving work devices in the open, letting non-employees, such as family and Friends, borrow devices for personal use, or using corporate devices to answer personal emails, shop online or visit social media pages, are all examples of risky behaviour that employees may engage in whilst working remotely.
There are a number of ways in which your employees can ensure they stay safer when working out of the office. Make sure you inform your employees of these home cyber security tips.
- Avoid Public Wi-Fi. A lot of people like to work in cafes which have public Wi-Fi. This is a very dangerous way of working because it means that hackers can target your computer if they are on the same network. If your employees work in public places, make sure your employees use personal hotspots or encrypt their web connection. Encrypted web connections help to protect your traffic.
- Use adaptive and multi-factor authentication:
- Device encryption ensure that if a laptop is stolen or lost that hackers can’t get into it. They also help to protect your online accounts.
- Make sure you and your remote working employees use long passwords with multi-characters.
- Add multi-factor authentication processes is also a great way to stay safe.
- Do not use your corporate passwords with third party systems.
- Use Security Protection. If your organization owns laptops that your employees will take home, make sure that good and up-to-date security protection is installed on it.
- It is a good idea to have firewalls, antivirus, device encryption, web filtering, and any other preventative software.
- If your employees are using their own laptops or desktops, then make sure your employees have these security protections on their laptops too.
- Encrypted Emails. Encrypt your emails so that hackers can’t read your business emails. Install applications that ensure the protection of your emails.
- It is also a good idea to ensure your employees know how to spot cyber threats, such as phishing emails, so give them some training on cybersecurity.
- Hide Your Work. If your remote employees are working at a coffee shop, make sure they know to hide their work. Don’t let the people around you see what you are typing or your screen.
- Always keep your work with you, even if you just go to the restroom, because hackers can easily access your information in a matter of minutes.
- Download our free cybersecurity reportto find out about the most critical IT security protections your business needs in place.
Protecting your business from hackers and cybercrime is extremely important, so make sure you implement our 5 cybersecurity tips now.
Remember to ensure your remote employees follow physical security tips too, such as not leaving a laptop in plain sight in their car.
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