Remote workers are becoming the norm in the workplace by the day. Whether it’s for telecommuting, working from home, or traveling to another city for work, many are forced to work remotely for their employer. While with the right precautions, remote workers can help their employers stay more organized, efficient, and productive.
Companies across the world are relying more and more on remote working, and with good reason: the global workforce is scattered across different time zones, countries, and continents, making it harder for employers to continuously monitor employees, especially when they’re working off the clock.
Many workers under the same IT department are working remotely. However, most of these employees are unaware of the extra risks that come with working remotely. Remote access to the company network allows for remote access to the company’s critical systems, which can be an opening for malicious cybercriminals.
The recent wave of ransomware attacks has raised awareness about the importance of protecting the Internet of Things (IoT), which is full of digital devices that can be used for good or for evil. Remote workers must keep in mind that the same applies to their remote IoT devices, which can easily be hacked and turned into a weapon for cyber criminals.
It’s simple really. While many sites offer tools to help protect workers against phishing attacks via email, many don’t offer protection to workers who are exposed to malware. Most remote workers don’t have the luxury to carry a computer with them, so they have to rely on their desktop or notebook computers to browse the Internet. If you need to do a lot of remote work, you may want to check out this guide to remote work security. Here are a few tips to help remote workers protect themselves from this threat.
Avoid Insecure Internet Connections
If you’re an employee working remotely, it’s important to be secure in your internet connection. Remote employees should encrypt their data before uploading it to the internet to protect themselves from hackers, malware, and other remote security threats.
Backup Important Files To Cloud-based Storage
Malware is growing increasingly sophisticated, and increasingly able to use cloud storage to get inside your devices to look for valuable files. But you can protect yourself by making sure you are accessing your data from the cloud. You can do this by making sure you are using a device that has anti-malware installed. Then, using a cloud backup service, you can back up all your important files to the cloud, so that just by connecting your phone to the internet, you are protected.
Encrypt Your Device
Many small business owners are spending more and more of their time working remotely. The convenience of working from home is undeniable, but the security risks are real. While many of us are aware that our devices can be infected with malware, it’s not always clear how to protect ourselves.
Everyone has a story of a time they’ve sent a sensitive email, a financial transaction, or a message of an intimate nature to a colleague or a customer, only to have it fall into the wrong hands. All companies have a need for secure communication, and while some can get by with a few strong passwords, most require that employees use secure, encrypted applications for their daily work.
Only Connect To A Secure Internet Connection
It used to be that if you wanted to work for online companies or freelancers, you had to be in the office every day, but this is no longer the case. Remote work has become extremely popular in recent years, because it allows you to work from wherever you like, when you like. And because of this, there are many workers who are vulnerable to online threats, such as viruses, malware, and even identity theft. This is especially true in the tech world, where many remote workers work in the tech industry.
When most people think of data security, they think of encrypting data, not protecting employees who are working remotely. That is why it’s important to keep the remote data connection secure. Don’t connect to public connection for work, only connect to a secure internet connection. If you are not sure whether it’s secure or not, it’s recommend using a premium VPN to protect yourself.
Use Premium VPN
Its common knowledge that using public Wi-Fi hotspots are risky because they are an easy way to be infected by malware. However, you can avoid this by connecting to a VPN. The great thing about VPNs is that they keep your data, internet traffic, and online activities completely anonymous. Moreover, there are many different kinds of VPNs to choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to look at your options.
Update Your Device Regularly
Malicious software is a top concern for employees working from home. In this modern age of digital technology, it seems like everyone is working from home. But, even if you’re not, cybercriminals may be targeting you—and you need to know how to protect yourself.
Without a robust security strategy in place, malicious software may infect your device and steal sensitive information. And that’s a big problem, because remote workers are more vulnerable.
When you work remotely, it’s easy to leave your computer at home, or at the office, or on the train. It’s also easy to forget to update your computer if it’s not in your possession.
Recent reports have shown that remote workers are more likely to be affected by malware than those working in an office environment, but there is no easy solution to this. It’s important to keep your device and software always up to date. This is because the software updates usually come with security patches.
Use An Encrypted Email Program
Email is usually the most common vector for cyber-attacks. Of course, the more sensitive the information you are trying to protect, the more important it is to use encryption. However, today’s email attacks aren’t just about stealing information, they’re about installing malware on your computer or network that gives the attacker access to your system or network.
Increase User Awareness
A new study finds that nearly half of all employees who use their personal devices to connect to work networks are at risk of their devices being compromised by malicious software. Because work productivity relies on the speed and reliability of these networks, hackers can find valuable new targets for malware.
Unnoticed, you are probably being watched. Malicious software can lurk on your computer, tablet, smart TV, or smartphone, watching your every move and stealing your personal information. Hopefully, your employer is taking precautions to protect the business. If not, it’s time to step up your own security and increase user awareness about cyber security to prevent bad things happened.
Deploy An Endpoint Security Program
Remote work is on the rise. More workers are taking on more responsibilities, leading to higher levels of stress, less time with loved ones, and more risk of falling prey to cyber attacks. One solution to mitigate these risks is to deploy an endpoint security program that protects workers.
All Devices Provided By The Company Require A Passcode Or Password To Access It
If you have remote workers, you know how important it is to keep them protected from malware. In today’s world, it’s not difficult to find a company that has been hacked. In fact, it’s likely several have been hacked. What can you do to prevent this from happening to your company? The first step is to ensure that the access rights of all devices provided by your company are configured correctly.
Requiring remote employees to create a password is a good way to help protect against malware. It’s important that all devices provided by the company require a passcode or password to access it. So that unauthorize user can’t access to confident data.
Use Two Factor Authentication
We all know that security is an issue for most organizations, but most don’t actually implement any security measures for remote workers. It is easy to understand why. Not only is this bad for productivity, but it is also hard to enforce. As a result, many remote workers are left at the mercy of hackers who may try to access their systems through their internet connection.
However, there are ways to prevent this. One of the best is to use two factor authentication. The two-factor authentication method that most larger companies use to protect their remote workers is really a one-size-fits-all solution.