Remote working may soon become the norm, building on trends from the past couple of years and recent events. While convenient for employer and employee alike, remote working does bring with it a set of cybersecurity concerns. According to Forbes, the need for workers to access business critical systems from outside locations presents an inherent problem. As more employers are making the cost-effective decision to make that step from the office to the home office, data security principles should be at the front of their minds.
Building on trust
The good news for private enterprise is that employers and members of the public already have a positive view on their ability to protect data. According to studies, 72% of people already trust companies to defend their private data – and certainly to a greater degree than other authorities. Businesses can capitalize on this trust by building software and protections that offer a high level of security to the data passing through them. Not doing so can lead to reputational and cost damages. Already, many outlets picked up on troubling developments
Using common sense
The first step any remote worker should take to staying secure is to use their common sense. A few weeks ago, Google notified authorities that it had blocked over 126 million new phishing scamse, according to The Register. For the ones that slip through, the premise is always simple – using an abuse of trust to gain passwords and similar details. Depending on the size of your company, this could be an outside host looking to take private data, or it could simply be related to your own personal financial data.
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Looking at outside risks
Moving out of the closely controlled environment of the office brings with it a new range of security considerations. Physical security becomes much more important as liability is moved to a private residence – what do employees have in place to stay safe from burglary and other opportunistic crimes? Is their spot in the house to work from safe from intrusion or surveillance? When they leave the house, is their equipment safe and secure from any potential problems? Cybersecurity is the primary concern, but physical security also comes into the equation and certainly can’t be ignored. Applying the common sense approach is once again advisable, as is exercising a greater degree of caution over any physical assets that relate to company business. Employees should treat devices used for their work with the same degree of care as they would their own devices.
Remote working brings with it cyber risk. Managing that risk doesn’t require a huge shift in technology or attitudes, but rather reapplication of what’s already known. Use common sense, use good software, and always be aware of potential threats to data assurance processes and how that will impact on the business.