Working remotely has become the new norm, and with COVID-19 coming and going in waves, we might as well get used to this new norm.
Even if the virus were to vanish like a morning mist, there’d be another threat of sorts. Many companies have made provision for this new concept and have ensured data security is in place before establishing their employees in remote home offices.
Eliminating concerns with data security
Data security is important for protecting data from destruction, whether accidental or deliberate. With employees working remotely, data security has become a major concern, what with employees using unsecured wifi networks.
For many companies, there are these new security considerations, and award-winning GoAnywhere ? a secure managed file transfer software company assists small and large organizations in saving time and money by improving security. They help companies to identify email-based threats and they reduce the chances of your networks and devices becoming compromised.
Apart from antivirus software, you want to secure mail by GoAnywhere by having them implement their other useful and effective email security tools as well.
Safe internet connections
Using unsecured wifi networks can expose your company to a data security breach. Remote workers just need to be educated about how to ensure that the company’s data is secure.
One of the ways to do this is to get employees to use a virtual private network or VPN, as it is known. This encrypts the internet traffic of the remote worker. Also, keep passwords varied.
Educating remote workers about password protection ? how not to use the same password over and over again – is an important part of securing a company’s data. Sometimes, a password manager can generate passwords for you and store them safely as well.
Educate employees
Managers and supervisors should educate employees about data security. Everybody has a responsibility towards protecting it. As mentioned above, the company needs to initiate procedures that will strengthen data security such as hiring the right people to assist with data security.
All employees need to know about a cybersecurity policy and they should actually review and sign such a policy, even those employees who don’t work remotely. The policy should cover the reasons why such a policy is in place.
Keep computers separate
It can often be tempting to use your own computer instead of the work computer to complete a task but this is a risk for your company. The IT team may have installed updates and antivirus scans on your work computer but they won’t have done this on your personal computer.
Your personal computer isn’t safe for work stuff as it could be compromised by a 3rd party, putting your company network at risk. If employers want to use their tablet computers to perform company tasks, businesses then implement policies that allow employees to use their personal mobile devices.
This trend is known as ‘Bring Your Own Device‘ or BYOD and then a company has to decide which employees can be allowed to participate in a BYOD program.
Antivirus software, firewalls
You will need to check with your remote workers that they have up-to-date antivirus software and firewalls on all their devices, and this also includes their cell phones.
The company you hire for data security may even have mobile device management platforms that allow remote workers to use all their own devices while continuing the ensure the safety of the company’s data.
You can’t just tell employees about it and expect it to get done as most employees don’t all have the technical expertise of an IT specialist. An organization concerned about their data security needs to actually offer technical support.
