Does your Charlotte business have more employees working remotely now than you did a year ago?
If you do, you’re not alone. Many businesses have decided to keep some type of remote work in place even after the pandemic passes. This is due to several different factors, including the need to stay agile and ready should another pandemic hit, the cost savings that come with a remote workforce, and the improved productivity.
77% of companies surveyed about their remote work policies after the pandemic, said they’ll have more employees working from home permanently at least three or more days per week.
Along with the benefits of using a remote workforce comes network security concerns. When employees and their devices are no longer working in the same location, it can leave holes in your cybersecurity strategy if you haven’t addressed remote working security via a guide or policy.
Many companies were initially racing to get cloud technologies in place for their remote teams that could ensure they could connect to their work, each other, and to customers.
But now that the initial rush to adjust is over, it’s time to put together a solid remote worker security policy that can ensure your data and network are protected no matter where your team is working.
Policies to Safeguard Your Work From Home (WFH) Employees
The guide below includes several policies that you can incorporate into your own remote work guide to expand your cybersecurity strategy.
Use a Business VPN for All Connections
Consumer routers are inherently less secure than business routers. This makes them more easily hacked, which could put work data and accounts in jeopardy.
The best way to secure an internet connection from any device and any location is to connect through a virtual private network (VPN).
A VPN is an application that installs on a computer or mobile device. Once you have your company account set up and add an employee, they can log in to the company account. This will encrypt all their traffic securing it, even if they’re connected through an insecure or public Wi-Fi.
Get Applications Approved Before Using Them
One problem that cropped up during the pandemic was the use of shadow IT. This means applications that are used for work by employees without having them approved first.
Approximately 1/3 of security breaches are projected to be due to the use of shadow IT.
You want to have a policy in place that discourages the use of cloud apps without first having them approved by your company.
All Devices Should Have Automated Updates
Unpatched operating systems and software are a major cause of data breaches and malware infections. When employees are working remotely you can’t be sure they’re properly updating their devices or just clicking “later” to an update because they don’t want to be interrupted.
It’s best to put a managed services plan for remote workers in place that includes automated updates of their devices. This ensures that vital security patches are applied and also takes the burden of performing those updates off your team.
All Devices Should Have Antivirus/Anti-Malware
Another important device protection you want to have in place is antivirus/anti-malware software. This is a must for employee devices to prevent malware infections that can then travel through their connection to files in a cloud storage account.
This is another safeguard that is best when it’s monitored through a managed support plan to ensure that it’s running properly and not accidentally disabled.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication for All Account Logins
Cloud account security can be a big problem when you have a remote team. Hackers often use remote desktop protocols to get into network resources.
You can significantly increase the security of your accounts by requiring that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is used with all logins, whether they’re to a cloud application or a website.
Use Web Protection/DNS Filtering
As many as 98% of phishing attacks are “malware-less,” meaning that instead of attaching a file with malware to an email, the attacker uses a link to a malicious website that can download malware as soon as it loads.
This is done to get past anti-malware programs and it often fools users because they’re not as suspicious of a link as they are a file attachment.
To combat this type of phishing attack, remote workers should have a DNS filtering software (also called web protection) on their computers. This type of application will redirect their browser away from a malicious site to a warning page instead. This helps prevent malware infections even after a dangerous link has been clicked.
Get Help Securing Your Remote Team!
Rocky Knoll Technologies has everything you need to secure employees working from home and keep your entire network secure.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call 704.594.7292 or reach us online.
