Away from the office, many of us feel more relaxed and at ease, but it’s important not to relax your cybersecurity awareness. When working remotely, employees often lose track of how to safeguard their data and that of their companies. Whether you are in the office or working from home, you can benefit from these cybersecurity tips.
Why does remote work pose cybersecurity risks?
When you’re working remotely, you have a lot more choices about how you work than when you come into the office. You might work in public spaces or at home with your kids. Without the need to keep regular business hours, you may transition more frequently between work and personal activities, using the same device for both. Factors like these create a heightened risk of cybersecurity lapses.
Don’t introduce risk.
To protect your company’s sensitive data and maintain network security, it’s important to avoid risky online behavior. When working from home, it can be easy to forget these basic cybersecurity guidelines.
- Don’t let family members or friends use your company-owned devices.
- Don’t download non-business related third-party apps on your company-owned device.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi to access the company network.
- Don’t use your default Wi-Fi router password.
- Don’t send electronic payments without following your company’s policy for verifying payment requests.
Do follow cybersecurity best practices.
Making good data hygiene a habit protects your private information as well as your employer’s. Follow these guidelines, especially when you’re working away from the office.
- Read and acknowledge your company’s remote work and bring your own device (BYOD) policies and procedures.
- Follow the guidelines in your company’s policies.
- Use a trusted VPN or other secure solution to log into the company network.
- Use strong, unique passwords on all your devices and accounts to prevent unauthorized access.
- Make sure your router’s firmware and the software on all devices in your home network are kept up to date.
- Secure all personal devices with up to date endpoint protection software.
- Be extremely cautious and aware of potential email phishing scams.
Many of these rules may seem simple, but breaches can happen because of the simplest mistakes. Make sure your entire team is on the same page regarding your remote work policies and procedures. If you don’t have specific remote work policies and procedures, the Pendello Solutions team can help you develop the proper protections to safeguard your data. To learn more about data security, browse our blog.
