One positive thing the pandemic brought us is the ability to work from home. For most, working remotely has got rid of long commutes, unnecessary office meetings, and stopped workers from losing their lunch to the resident fridge thief.
Equally, working from home has increased productivity in various sectors and boosted happiness for many employees. So, while social distancing slowly becomes a thing of the past, countless companies are willing to continue working from home.
However, this does come with certain risks. How can a company protect its business assets and keep employees safe from the most common cyber threats, all while staying remote? Let’s look at some answers below.
Employee Cybersecurity Training
Various studies show that employees are and will always be a company’s biggest risk regarding cybersecurity. Indeed, the chances of having a cyber-attack increase due to employees’ ignorance on what to look out for and what kind of activity should be flagged as suspicious.
Employee training on the how, the why, and the what-to-do-next is the best way to prevent severe issues from happening in the first place. A well-educated employee is far less of a risk to the company.
VPN Services
Cyber-attacks on a company can come in different forms with varying tools and end games. Sadly, there is no sure-fire way to prevent every single attack that is possible. However, companies can take some extra steps that help prevent cybercriminals from having success. Using Surfshark can help in this regard.
For example, using a VPN will help you keep your sensitive data secure and away from cybercriminals. A VPN will encrypt the connection on the device you’re using and keep everything perfectly safe. Moreover, employees won’t have to worry about internet speed as most VPN providers offer many servers worldwide. For example, if your company is located in the United States, explain to employees that to get the best experience, they should use the nearest servers available. In this specific situation, they should connect to a USA VPN server and enjoy their secure surfing.
Strong Passwords
Make sure employees are using strong and complex passwords when dealing with company files and accounts. For instance, it becomes way more difficult for criminals to steal your data if employees regularly change their passwords and make them unique. For secure work, it is necessary to never repeat the same passwords for different accounts or devices.
Because strong passwords are made up of numbers, letters (both uppercase and lowercase), and special characters, it is almost impossible for anyone to remember them. The solution to this is quite simple – employees can always use password managers. A password manager will suggest a complex and super strong password and securely store it.
Provide Company Devices
Always provide company devices for your employees for the best protection. If employees are forced to use their laptops, the risk of cyber-attacks increases significantly. Your employee might visit suspicious websites during his free time, which can lead you to a data breach.
Giving company devices will prevent you from those situations, as you’ll be able to prepare the computer with all the security tools needed.
Limit Access
Ensure that all company files and information is on a need-to-know basis. If a particular employee doesn’t need access to certain files, then restrict this access. By doing it, you’ll be able to prevent data from being lost or stolen.
Final Thoughts
Overall, employees are far happier working from home. They can spend more time with their families and skip those hours stuck in traffic, all while being more productive than ever before.
For companies, many have saved tens of thousands of dollars not paying for rent and utilities on office buildings.
All these reasons show it’s in everyone’s best interest to work remotely. As long as companies implement security practices, every business can operate safely anywhere.
