COVID has influenced many changes in our professional and personal work environments. Employees began to work remotely, most notably. Many companies found that their employees are just as productive working from home, even if they had to adapt to new ways of doing business. Many companies also found that overhead and expenses were reduced and employee satisfaction was higher. While telecommuting offers many benefits, remote work environments can make organizations more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.
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With more than 4.3 Million Americans now working remotely, here are four tips to improve the security of your remote work setup.
John Wittwer, a senior member at The Cavanagh Law Firm, is focused on cybersecurity and privacy as well as insurance coverage, professional liability, commercial litigation, and professional liability.
Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Multi-factor authentication eliminates the danger of password hacking. MFA is a process that ensures that hackers can’t access your data if a password has been compromised. In a typical configuration, you log in with your username, password, and the password is validated via an authentication server. If the password is correctly entered, the authentication server validates it. The user must then perform a second step to verify that it is correct. An example is that the authentication server might send a push notification via your phone to confirm it is you. To confirm that the notification is from you, you will need to approve it on your phone. MFA can also use biometrics, such as fingerprints, face or eye scans, to confirm that you are indeed the sender. This two-step process significantly reduces the chance of password compromise and allows for access to proprietary data.
Use a Virtual Private Network.VPN software protects you information by hiding your IP address and encrypting your data. This anonymizes your online identity and allows you to browse the Internet more securely. Your internet service provider can access all of your internet data while you are connected to your home Wi Fi. Data breaches can often occur in companies, which means that your information may be at-risk. Additionally, A VPN will prevent websites and apps from attributing your online activities directly to your IP address. It can also be used to limit the collection and history of your location.
Make sure you have strong passwords. It is becoming more important than ever that passwords are hard to crack or figure out, both because of the rise in remote workers and the ease with which information can be shared online. The following are general guidelines for secure passwords:
Use at least eight letters, numbers, or symbols in combination
Use words and names not found in the dictionary.
You and your family should not share any information. You can tell us about your location, your interests, birthday, and so on.
Passwords should not be reused
Avoid using sequential numbers or letters
Change your passwords regularly
Use passphrases i.e.A longer string of text that forms a sentence or phrase.
Keep your software up-to-dateIt is important to have the latest software installed on your computer. Software updates include security patches which can reduce the risk of malware infection. Software updates can fix security holes and fix bugs that may have been found. Hackers love software vulnerabilities. They can exploit the weakness and write code to attack it. The malware is then packaged with the code to steal data from your device, or allow attackers access to your computer and encrypt your files.
It takes time, attention, and collaboration with a team of professionals to set up a secure remote workspace. The tips above will help companies and employees to get started in protecting their remote workers from cyberthreats.
John Wittwer is a Senior member at The Cavanagh Law FirmSecurity and privacy, insurance coverage, professional liability and commercial litigation are all areas that we will be focusing on.