How to Securely Work from Home 

2020 has been a year to remember! With the unpredictable situation we have been facing the past year with Covid19, we have had to adapt to it and find ways to work around it. Businesses have come to the realisation that employees can work effectively from home. However, it’s crucial that businesses are still accounting for the best practices to help remain safe and protected. With a huge increase in cyber-attacks in the past few months, it’s an element that can’t be ignored. As we all know, there can be huge damage caused by a cyber-attack, which could potentially result in your business not being able to survive. Are you ready to find out the ways businesses can securely work from home? 

Use a secure Wi-Fi Network 

It’s super important to use a secure network and to avoid using public Wi-Fi spots. Public Wi-Fi is an easy way for hackers to access your information, as anything which is sent or received whilst using it is extremely vulnerable. The reason behind this is the thin firewall which is used which allows people to easily access what you are doing. This invades cybersecurity standards which puts yourself at risk with personal information. 

VPN 

By having a VPN, it provides you with extra online protection from hackers ensuring your security and privacy. You will be protected when sending and receiving data whilst working from home. A VPN will mask browsing history, it won’t show a physical location for online network users, and it will decrease the chance of identity theft as the network is private.   

Anti-virus  

By installing an anti-virus, it will keep malware and other cybersecurity threats at bay. It will monitor you and help detect any potential threats and suspicious behavior. An anti-virus solution will help you stay protected especially when working from home. 

Disaster recovery and backup plan 

Cybersecurity risks increase when working from home therefore a disaster recovery and backup plan are crucial to ensure your businesses continuity in the case of a disaster. By having a disaster recovery plan in place, it will protect you as soon as a threat is detected.  

Security Awareness Training 

With the increase in people working from home, individuals are actively being targeted by cybercriminals. Although businesses may have already given security awareness training to their employees, working from home training should be enforced as they are more likely to encounter risks that haven’t been covered. Ensuring your staff is aware of potential threats and how to act on from them is crucial. 

A common way hackers try and catch people out is from emails. Businesses need to ensure their staff are fully aware of phishing because as soon as an email attachment is opened, it allows hackers to have access to their network. 

Strong Authentication  

Making sure you have a strong authentication is vital as it makes it that extra bit harder for hackers to attack you. You want to make sure you have a strong and unique password, and also use different passwords for different accounts. A password manager is a great way to store all your passwords securely. By doing so, it reduces the risk of fraud, data loss, and identity theft. In addition to this, businesses should have passwords on conference calls, telephone, etc to avoid any unauthorised access. 

Ways in which businesses can improve cybersecurity 

1. Understand potential threats – by understanding who and what your potential threats are will enable you to stay protected from them. You will be aware and pick up on the ways of how they work.  

1. Prevent data leaks – By only allowing certain people to see confidential data, will reduce the risk of data leaks.  

1. Protection from ransomware and malware – All businesses should have practices in place to keep their company safe from ransom attacks, malware, etc. The after-effect of a cyber incident could be disastrous therefore it should be their main objective. 

Conclusion… 

Statistics have shown since the start of the global pandemic we’ve been facing, there has been a huge increase in cyber incidents as the attackers know the majority of people are working from home. It is paramount for businesses to enforce these strict practices in order to stay safe and protected from attackers. Employees need to stay in communication often with other team members often, and if a problem was to arise, they need to be aware of how to act on it quickly as time is of the essence during a breach. Enforcing the correct equipment such as anti-virus solutions, VPN, secure devices to all employees is crucial.  Book a call today with a team member and see how our expertise can help you.