It’s no secret that Covid-19 caught numerous businesses off guard in 2020, forcing employers to rapidly transition their staff from working on location to working remotely from home. Along with that transition will come the cybersecurity risks.
Did you know that your company’s information can unintentionally be put at risk by you and your employees when working remotely? This could possibly lead to fraud, data breaches, and a plethora of other unwanted consequences. Although remote working offers many benefits, it also comes with some risks. Continue reading if you want to learn more about the benefits, risks, and ways to lessen a breach as well as tips on how to mitigate one. Learn tips to ensure that cybersecurity is front and center for your workforce.
The Remote Workforce — Is This a New Trend?
Although the world seems to be opening up, many people have gotten comfortable with the new work-from-home trend. So much so that 70% of the global population is working remotely at least once a week. It doesn’t matter what title they use:
● eWorkers
● Teleworkers
● Road Warriors
● Digital Nomads
● Telecommuters
● Remote Workers
● Off-site Employees
One thing is for certain, and two things are for sure, remote workers are here to stay. If your business intends on taking advantage of this thriving pool of talent that’s working remotely, you will need to make some adjustments to the unparalleled cybersecurity risks that come along with it.
Remote Work — Risks and Benefits
Working remotely does come with its share of benefits, but it also comes with substantial risks to you, your company, and your brand if your network is not up-to-date on cybersecurity measures and gets hacked. One benefit is that you could see a reduction in business expenses. Schedules tend to be more flexible, and you don’t have to leave your home, woo-hoo!
The Remote Endpoint
One risk that businesses have to think about now is the remote endpoint. With cybersecurity being challenging for employers, having the correct tools to lessen the risk is essential. Transitioning to a remote workforce will require remote endpoint management.
Businesses believe that their own remote workers can work in a remote environment while being productive, as long as an approach that includes an effective endpoint management security solution is critical. With SOC services, we can also assist IT administrators in overseeing your company’s:
● Remote Endpoints
● Cloud infrastructure
● Network Security
Did you know that Remote Endpoint Protection and Management is currently a leading priority on an IT administrator’s shortlist? Start with the emergence of client management tools, progressing through enterprise mobility management, including mobile device management. The industry has undergone constant transformations.
One significant issue concerning remote work is cybersecurity threats – which is why it is crucial that your company is equipped with the proper applications for your remote working staff – as well as having protected remote endpoints.
Protect Devices With a Sophisticated Endpoint Security Solution
When it comes to remote work, it’s quite different from working in the office, and it’s more challenging to protect telecommuters. One thing to keep in mind is that even though your employee is remote, the same cannot be said about your network. Once your employee clocks/logs in, attackers can enter your network and cause havoc.
Once logged in, your stored documents are at risk because you’re connected to your company’s network. By implementing policies that guarantee that your remote staff has a trustworthy security solution. For instance, with an endpoint security tool by Clearnetwork Inc., you can facilitate the prevention of a cyber incident from occurring. It is also essential that the utilized endpoint security solution interacts with remote endpoints that render a thorough endpoint detection and response (EDR) module.
Five Cybersecurity Tips For Your Remote Personnel
1. What Are Some Features of An Endpoint Security Solution?
Incorporate a VPN along with MFA
As business moves increasingly to remote workers, VPN and multi-factor authentication are essential tools for secure access. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides an encrypted tunnel that allows the secure transfer of data from a remote machine to the company’s system, making it more difficult for hackers to intercept and manipulate this valuable data. Multi-factor authentication enhances security by requiring more than one set of credentials for access — adding extra layers of protection. By integrating these two tools together, you can provide improved security for your team and their data when accessing the corporate network from any location.
If you’ve corporate Watchguard VPN for employees working off-premises you should also consider implementing Watchguard SSL VPN MFA for remote workers to maintain the security and privacy of an organization’s data. Watchguard SSL VPN MFA features state-of-the-art encryption technology to ensure that the data accessed over VPN channels remains confidential, making it an ideal solution for securing and managing your business’s remote workforce.
Real-Time Antivirus Scanning
Antivirus software identifies malware on your computer with active scanning functionality that consistently checks your computer for intrusion from malicious threats.
Behavioral Analysis
The endpoint security solution ought to possess vigorous behavioral analysis functionality. When dealing with malicious executables, you need to understand that they are configured to misdirect security, so behavioral analysis on new executables must be performed securely.
Detection Exploitation
Many of the applications and platforms that you use regularly for work could be harboring hidden threats. Many applications can have vulnerabilities, so make sure that your endpoint security has an exploit detection module.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
System admins are unable to queue themselves pending team member logins for manual deletion requests. Therefore, it’s critical that when scanning for malware and viruses, any compromised endpoint be secluded. Your endpoint security solution must possess a full EDR module that permits your administrators to remotely:
● Mitigate infection
● Isolate endpoints
● Conduct Forensics
Check out Managed Crowdstrike
2. Maintain Operating Systems and Program Updates
One of the greatest vulnerabilities is operating systems and applications, which are repeatedly being found and exploited by cybercriminals. Once they’ve gained access, they infiltrate your devices and networks and exploit your personal data.
Remote workers should regularly conduct updates to guarantee that required patches are applied.
3. Set Wi-Fi Configuration Encryption
It is pivotal that you remind your remote workers to configure their Wi-Fi encryption, since you (the employer) do not have complete control of it. It is the employers’ responsibility to ensure that their remote employees are hooked to the internet via an adequately configured Wi-Fi point.
For instance, your home router was probably not set up with a unique password, rather it’s likely using the default password issued by the manufacturer.
Hackers can use this vulnerability to hijack your traffic by hard-coding those default passwords and turning them into malicious software. Remote workers should also change their passwords regularly and use a virtual private network (VPN) to connect to your workplace network when working in a public place.
4. For Email and Messaging — Use Corporate Services
Make sure that your remote workers have access to the company’s tools and IT services to assist in maintaining network security. When employees utilize tools, applications, and email for sharing work-related data, it, can assure that your company’s data is secure.
You should also consider a remote worker’s security policy, which will also deem your network more secure.
5. Remain Vigilant
Hacker techniques are evolving daily, as they are relentless. Remind remote employees that they should not click on email attachments or links that they’re not familiar with, and to be mindful of their cyber environment.
Final Thoughts
A pint of prevention is worth a quart of cure. Although working remotely does provide benefits to your employees, it also brings quite a high level of risk to your company. Train your employees on cybersecurity threats regularly to keep your business safe online
