Cybersecurity Tips for Remote Workers

Remote work is the new normal for companies across the world. This new world of working has a number of benefits for both employees and companies—employees get to work from wherever they please, and companies save on real estate and overhead costs.

Employees are enjoying the flexibility remote work gives them, and companies are embracing remote work in order to compete for top talent. However, when it comes to cybersecurity, remote work has its drawbacks.

Organizations may not know how to protect remote workers’ laptops and mobile devices. Attackers are ramping up cyberattacks on remote workers, as they may have more vulnerabilities as compared to conventional office workers. Here are a few cybersecurity tips for remote workers.

Developing a remote work policy for your remote employees can help improve cybersecurity resilience. This policy can include everything from remote access control to information disposal. You can tell your remote workers what to do when working remotely, but putting your policies in writing makes them that much more effective. If remote workers are unsure about something, they can reference the policy to answer their questions. Remote work policies make it simple for your employees to help keep your organization safe.

Remote employees may be tempted to use work devices for fun or personal devices for work. Both can put your organization at risk. The devices employees use for work should be only used for work and not personal matters. While using a work device for fun, an employee may accidentally stumble upon a malicious website that could compromise their work device. On the other hand, when employees use their own devices for work-related tasks, they are accessing your organization’s network on a device that may not have the same security measures as company-issued devices. Make it clear in your remote work policy how devices should be used and networks should be accessed.

A multi-factor authentication solution can help ensure that users are who they say they are. When logging in, users will have to use another method, such as a password sent to a smartphone, to verify their identity. More and more organizations are using multi-factor authentication to add an additional layer of security to their network.

Set up company network and devices to automatically update to the latest version of all applications. Remote workers may ignore important application updates as they focus on their day-to-day responsibilities. This lack of application updates can cause security issues, since security updates can only work if they’re applied. If an employee does not keep all of their applications updated, attackers can exploit known vulnerabilities. To circumvent this problem, companies can set up their network and devices to automatically update to the latest version of all applications. Users will be better protected from known threats.

Remote work is here to stay. Ensure that your remote workers are following the best cybersecurity policies to protect your business from cyberattacks. Work closely with your IT team to ensure that your remote workers have the resources and tools to succeed in a remote working environment. Continue to share cybersecurity tips for remote workers to keep your team up to date on the latest threats.

Contact Adapture for more information on keeping your organization secure.