As we continue to see a significant increase in companies advising employees to work from home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, I wanted to reach out with important steps you can take to provide secure remote work access to your staff. Even if you are operating without major
changes now, this is a good opportunity for organisations to focus on planning so your business can go on as usual, even when a disruption like this occurs.

We face risks in cybersecurity every day. However, one of the challenges of enabling a mobile workforce is that the chances of being the subject of credential-related attacks can increase significantly. Without the benefit of your core network protections, a user on the go could become infected without your knowledge, and even introduce the infection to your broader environment when they reconnect with your network.

Here are important steps you can take to use security as an enabler of productivity and access.

Determine if you have increased risk: Identifying the additional vulnerabilities that may arise, especially as remote work increases, is fundamental so you can manage availability and take mitigation steps if needed. The latest Internet Security Report can be a good start.

Urge the use of a secured VPN connection: Remote employees are prone to being exposed to unsecure networks, so whenever possible it’s recommended to use a company VPN to redirect Internet traffic through a protected server.

Educate remote employees about security awareness: Your staff can play a critical defense role when it comes to avoiding cyber attacks. Put together a checklist focusing on best practices remote employees can easily embrace.

Here are some ideas you can drop in an email to your team:

  • If your home network is public, make it private: Secure your home office by securing your wireless network.
  • Use strong passwords: Protect identity and company credentials to stay away from malware like Mimikatz.
  • Beware of phishing: Avoid getting caught by a hacker by carefully reviewing emails that seem odd or unexpected.
  • Use the VPN connection: Let’s face it, employees don’t always follow the security polices we put in place,
    but now is the time to get all the protection you can get.

Look into MFA solutions: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides the security you need to protect your assets, accounts, and information so your company can work confidently and worry-free.

If you would like more information about secure remote working please feel free to contact us now on 0203 92 66 999 or click here.