In this constantly changing environment, more and more employers prefer their employees to work from home. There are some precautions to be taken by employers and employees. This article talks about some security tips to protect data when working remotely.
Remote working – Safety and security advice
Here are some areas that you should consider to be safe and secure when working remotely:
- Use a VPN
- Educate your employees
- Use good security software
- Strong passwords
- Use some form of data encryption.
1]Use a VPN
The first safety tip when connecting to the corporate intranet via home or another Wi-Fi network is to use a virtual private network (VPN). An intranet is a private network created using the Internet.
Wi-Fi at home may not be 100% secure because people tend to use default or weak passwords in their routers. Free public Wi-Fi hotspots also require a lot of care because someone can listen to your traffic to hack your computer. VPN software is also recommended for public Wi-Fi hotspots. Choose a good VPN after reading different brand reviews and ask for suggestions from your teammates and friends.
The best way to finalize the VPN for insecure Wi-Fi hotspots and home Wi-Fi is through feedback from your company’s IT staff. The company can opt for a paid VPN corporate edition and install it on all employee computers. This should protect employers’ data.
2]Educate your employees
Contact all your employees and inform them of:
- how does social engineering work,
- all about phishing,
- how hackers attack and gain access to computers, and
- how to stay safe and protect employer data when connected to the internet
- and similar things that would avoid anything that could compromise the employers intranet
3]Firewalls and security software
Update all software loaded on employee computers or have your employees install the latest version. The security software used for work must always be updated in order not to compromise the employees’ computers and therefore to contaminate the LAN or the office intranet. The list of software includes an antivirus and a firewall. If you are using a VPN, make sure it is the latest version.
4]Strong passwords
Check the strength of passwords used in your business. Discover the strength of the passwords your employees use. Provide them with a good password manager like Lastpass and tell them how to create and use strong passwords. But only add websites and forms that employees can visit / use on the employee’s device. Different people working at different levels need to access different types of websites. For example, a work computer would rarely have Facebook or Twitter, unless they are part of the business processes related to the employee profile.
5]Use some form of data encryption
Data encryption will protect your data even if one of your computers is compromised. Make sure the encryption key is secure somewhere. It is best to encrypt the entire disk at once. Check out some good encryption software that we covered at Windows Club.
Safety tips for employees working remotely
- Make sure your company computer has a good VPN. Always keep the VPN enabled when using the Internet.
- Avoid doing corporate and personal work at the same time or doing multiple tasks at the same time. Going from corporate to personal work can cause your browser content to leak. This can also lead to Tabnabbing. Be aware of the risks of doing personal work on the company intranet.
- Always keep the disk encrypted and decrypt only the files you use for office work. It also means that the business must use file encryption software on all of the disk encryption software in order for data to be protected. The problem with whole disk encryption software is that it decrypts the entire disk at once.
- Use only the services provided by the company on the work computer: e-mail, instant messaging, conference software and browsers.
- DO NOT use proxies to access sites that have been prohibited on your work computer. It may sound safer, but the proxy can take notes about what you do on the Internet and otherwise.
Did we forget a tip on safety and security at work at a distance in this post? Share your own tips and experiences with us in the comments section below.
