Cyber Security Practices For Remote Working

The world of work has been undergoing significant changes even as companies aim to recruit more talent and create business continuity plans. Trends such as hybrid working have become common, particularly with the widespread adoption of remote working.

Employees are gaining more interest in work positions that are remotely operated. In a January 2023 report by FlexJobs.com stated that listings for remote position rose from 12% to 20% between 2021 and 2022.

However, remote work poses a unique challenge for information security since a remote working environment does not have the same safeguards as offices. Employees need to learn the different methods of ensuring that they minimize the probability of cyber-attacks.

 

Always Work on Work Computers

 

A mistake that many people do when working from home is use their personal computers to complete “minor” work projects. This is especially if your work computer is in a different room. Such dealings introduce a risk for the company and company data.

If you work with a company that has a good IT department, they may be running regular updates, security checks, and blocking malicious sites on the work computers without your knowledge. For example, developers use different forms of testing including SAST and DAST to test whether their application are vulnerable to attack.

By using your personal computer, you introduce the risk of being an easy target, as high chances are that you do not follow the same protocols as work computers. Without the various security measures running in the background, your personal computer is not safe to operate on work data.

If the employer gives you access to a remote access such as Office 365, you can opt to operate online. Desist from downloading files or syncing emails with your personal device, as it is always recommended to separate your personal and work-related business.

Use Antivirus and Internet Security Software 

 

One of the best investments you could make for security at home is a comprehensive antivirus suite.

The estimated cost of cybercrime is expected to rise to 13.82 trillion USD in 2028 across the globe. This figure might even be higher considering the increase in the number of hackers trying to breach people’s home internet and business VPNs go have access to sensitive files.

Antivirus suites enable you to be safe by offering automatic remote work security against threats such as:

• Malware, spyware and viruses
• Phishing scams
• Zero-day attacks
• Trojans and worms

A comprehensive antivirus suite will provide an additional line of defense on devices that are kept secure and up to date.

 

Avoid Public Wi-Fi

 

Public Wi-Fi networks should be avoided at all times as they pose a significant security risk. If you are accessing the internet from a public provider, there are two primary problems that you should be ready to deal with.

First, there are also other people who use that Wi-Fi network, and since there is no firewall between you and them, threats can easily get to your device at any time. Second, an interested observer who is operating on the current network or another public network that your data is going through can easily monitor your traffic. It is, therefore, important to find a way to protect your work device and encrypt your traffic.

A good option to use is a personal hotspot from your phone or a dedicated device. The benefit of this is that even though the traffic is unencrypted between the hotspot and the destination, you remove the risk of being hacked by users of public Wi-Fi. The cost may be higher when using cellular data, but the potential downside of a public Wi-Fi network poses a higher risk.

Another option is to set up encrypted remote connections to your remote desktop. The connection types involved in such a setup do not require an additional encryption service to secure in-transit data.

Keep Family Members Away from Work Devices

 

While you might trust yourself around your work devices, working from home exposes the devices to family members and young children. These people do not have the authority or expertise required to operate the devices in the right manner and may create loopholes that hackers can exploit.

Ensure that all devices are far from the reach of family members. You also need to ensure that devices are password protected at all times to prevent third-party access of sensitive files. It is advisable to have long passwords that utilize uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. This create strong passwords.

When working remotely, you must ensure that you are operating using your company device because of the different protocols followed to secure the devices. You also need to ensure that all devices have antivirus suites and internet security software to manage malware, spyware and other attacks.

Since public Wi-Fi is never a secure option, you can resort to other network options like cellular hotspot as this reduces the risk of public hackers. Also, you need to be vigilant that your device is only handled by you and is not in the reach of other family members.

By following such measures, you can be sure to reduce cyber security threats when working away from the office.