We understand the work from home fatigue has probably hit you… hard. It’s officially been over a year since we were asked to pack up our desks and work from the convenience of our own homes. Employees have adapted to no commute, zoom meetings and sweatpants as the new business casual however, there are parts of working from home that need to be addressed. Have you considered what a data breach may look like for your organization when an employee’s sensitive information is hacked from home? The convenience of the work from home model can come at a cost when hackers have the ability to break into company networks, and sensitive data and finances fall into the wrong hands. It can be hard to know where to begin when trying to secure your devices and adhere to a company’s cybersecurity plan.
That’s where we come in to help! We’ve compiled six tips to keep your company devices secure and help prevent hackers from sneaking into your network while you are continuing to work remotely.
1. Secure your passwords – It’s easy to lose track of passwords when you need them to access every account. Some company devices and accounts may come with factory default passwords; however, these should be updated as soon as possible. When setting up passwords it’s important to make sure you use hard to guess combinations of special characters, numbers, and upper-case and lower-case letters. Experts also suggest using a variation of passwords for different accounts and multi-factor authentication for an added layer of security. Finally, don’t incorporate any personal or company information into your passwords as this can make it easier for hackers to guess login credentials.
2. Update, update, update – Make sure your applications and networks are updated not only for faster operation but for cybersecurity. Developers release new updates for a reason and sometimes they include solutions that fight off bugs and viruses from earlier versions. New updates also protect personal and company data from falling into the wrong hands. Not updating your systems can leave you and your organization vulnerable to cyberattacks because of weakened systems.
3. Physical surroundings – This might be the last thing you’d think of when ensuring your cybersecurity, however it’s critical that you keep your physical devices safe. When you have guests at your house make sure you lock your doors and don’t leave anything in plain sight. Even if you trust the people around your devices, accidental mishaps could lead to greater cybersecurity issues. Also, keep track of any external devices like flash drives so that they don’t get lost or fall into the wrong hands.
4. Use corporate clouds and devices – If possible, using devices and clouds provided by your company can take a lot of stress off of security measures. These clouds usually have stronger security feature and encryptions tools as well for sensitive data and projects. It’s also easier to collaborate with coworkers when everyone is using the same systems to store projects and communications. Corporations usually have their own security measures in place, and it eliminates the worry of storing personal and work files in the same network.
5. Stay educated – While it may feel like a hassle, staying on top of corporate cybersecurity training can save you and your company from a cyberattack. Hackers are always evolving scams and phishing attacks so staying up to date on what these schemes look like can save you from falling for one. Organizations can lead cybersecurity drills to walk employees through the proper response or they can send out practice phishing emails to test their employees.
6. Implement a SOC-as-a-Service – A Soc-as-a-Service is an extremely helpful resource to monitor company networks 24/7 and monitor any abnormal behavior. They can detect every threat present to the network and determine if it’s credible before deploying the appropriate response. IT teams can also focus their time on other important matters when a SOCaas is available to ensure company-wide cybersecurity. If this sounds like a resource that would be helpful for your organization, schedule a demo with AgileBlue here.
