Cyber security tips for remote working
Enhancing cyber security for remote workers. Businesses must take action now and follow our expert tips for staying secure.
In the current climate, having a sizable amount of employees suddenly working remotely can be a major change for businesses and can present numerous problems with regard to cybersecurity.
Because people do not see each other in person, there is an increased need for two-factor authentication, monitoring access controls and creating strong passwords to protect your data and assets. Employees are now likely to receive far more emails and online requests, creating an increased risk of cyberattacks.
Many businesses may not have all the resources necessary to deal with these different types of scenarios, with heightened sensitivity around the demands placed on IT departments.
Here at Northdoor, our experienced team of experts can help you to keep your business and employees secure during remote working. See below for our top cybersecurity tips.
1. Cloud adoption is key when it comes to cybersecurity
At Northdoor, we assess the most critical parts of your business that will be served by technology transformation, such as leveraging the cloud to quickly scale those critical operations while being extra cautious and limiting security risks. Shifting an entire business practice can take time and be a daunting task, even for the tech-savvy, which is why having an experienced third-party IT consultancy on hand to help is crucial.
2. Cybercrime is on the rise. How to protect your business from phishing scams and social engineering attacks
With many staff now working at home, away from the corporate network and very possibly using their own devices, businesses need to stay alert for phishing emails and to make sure that employees know how to recognise them and what to do if they receive one- such as only clicking on web links within emails that they are sure are authentic.
Cybercriminals often utilise common file types employees are used to seeing, such as PDFs. Even though not every file extension can launch an attack, employees should treat all file extensions with scepticism. Business leaders need to be -aware of social engineering attacks, which have increased significantly as more people work from home. At the moment, these attacks are especially effective when attackers can capitalise on rapid change and confusion.
3. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) should be made widely available across your business
Even if your employees are taking basic precautions in securing their home WiFi networks, your business will still need to deploy a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to keep your operations secure, with software that creates an exclusive network from a public one. This allows employees to send and receive data or share it securely, as the VPN acts as if your devices are directly connected to a private network. Therefore, devices connected by VPN run their apps with the functionality and security of that particular network. This is of crucial importance in protecting sensitive company data from cyber criminals.
4. Privileged Remote Access Management (PAM) can offer an alternative
An alternative to VPNs is Privileged Access Management (PAM) software solutions. They not only give your business control over who can access what, but they can also help you detect threats and suspicious activity in every session. PAM is also responsible for granting access credentials centrally and prevents the misuse of software and hardware by limiting credentials.
With PAM, you can grant permissions to external collaborators even if you are using a VPN. At the same time, you can integrate the access control API to other security software. This makes it difficult for attackers to break into a network and gain access to your data.
5. Keep your data backed-up
Ransomware attacks are increasing since business practices have been forced to change. Generally speaking, larger businesses have the collateral to either pay a ransom or security consultants to get their data back. However, for businesses, this can be a real problem.
For small businesses having their data locked away in one place and considering the high ransom costs can be, could make the difference to whether or not you stay afloat.
As well as keeping data in the cloud, small businesses need to conduct regular backups and store backup data in offline locations, which will help businesses recover quickly from potential cyber and ransomware attacks.
Considering the number of high-profile cyberattacks that we’ve seen. It is vital that cybersecurity becomes a chief concern for all business leaders and their employees going forward. Implementing the right security best practices takes time, but in this period of uncertainty, it is well worth it.
Read more: Automated Data Backup and Data Protection