10 Cybersecurity Tips For Remote Workers

10 Cybersecurity Tips For Remote Workers

Due to the spread of coronavirus, businesses have had to adopt a remote work model, and quickly. Unfortunately, in doing so, many of these businesses may have compromised their security.

With so many team members operating remotely, working from a laptop or smartphone, how can you be sure that business data is completely secure? Are you taking the necessary steps to maintain security while your staff works from home?

Keep the following tips in mind:

1. Use A VPN: When you use a virtual private network (VPN), your data is encrypted, or hidden, as it moves from your device to the VPN and then continues onto the Internet. That makes it harder for an attacker to identify you as the source of the data.
2. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication: Multi-factor authentication is a great way to add an extra layer of protection to the existing system and account logins. By requiring a second piece of information like a randomly-generated numerical code sent by text message, you’re able to make sure that the person using the login credentials is actually who they say they are.
3. Manage Your Passwords: One of the best ways to maintain complex passwords is with a password manager. Password managers are the key to keeping your passwords secure.
   A password manager generates, keeps track of and retrieves complex and long passwords for you to protect your vital online information. It also remembers your PINS, credit card numbers, and three-digit CVV codes if you choose this option.
4. Verify Payments Via Phone: As you can’t meet in person to verify major financial transactions, the least you can do is confirm over the phone with the contact. Never execute a financial transfer based on an email request alone – it could very well be a cybercriminal posing as a business contact or third party organization.
   
5. Educate Your Employees: Now more than ever, your employees need to know how to spot social engineering scams:
   • Phishing: Phishing (and all social engineering techniques) is about the element of surprise. It’s a method in which cybercriminals send fraudulent emails that appear to be from reputable sources in order to get recipients to reveal sensitive information and execute significant financial transfers.
     
   • Business Email Compromise: Business Email Compromise is a social engineering technique used by cybercriminals in which they pose as a business or member of a business in order to execute fraudulent payments. In layman’s terms, a cybercriminal will write an email pretending to be from your credit union, and request that a payment be processed – instead of to a legitimate source, the payment will go to them.
     
6. Follow A Mobile Device Management Policy: An effective MDM policy should also instill safe and secure practices for employees that use personal devices for business purposes. Key considerations include:
   • Decide When And How Mobile Devices Will Be Used. Integrated into your internal network, these devices can be used to access, store, transmit, and receive business data. You’ll need to have policies in place to regulate how employees use their devices to interact with sensitive data.
   • Consider How Mobile Device Use Can Pose Risks To Your Data. A risk analysis will help you identify vulnerabilities in your security infrastructure, and help you determine the safeguards, policies, and procedures you’ll need to have in place.
7. Protect Your Personal Information: Always double-check what you may be sharing on social media. With the wrong security settings, anyone can see what you post, including personal information that may make it easier for them to guess your passwords, answer your security questions, and pose as you online.
8. Stay Safe While Mobile: Don’t download apps that aren’t approved by your smartphone provider’s app store. Unauthorized apps are a common way for hackers to sneak malware onto your device. Always be skeptical of permissions you grant and the data you provide when using mobile technology.
9. Implement Stronger Security Settings: You know you shouldn’t trust default security settings, right? Just because a program is generally considered to follow standard security practices, that doesn’t mean that it’s as secure as it should be “out of the box”.
10. Stay Up To Date: One of the most common ways that cybercriminals get into a network is through loopholes in popular software? Much of the software you rely on to get work done every day could have flaws — or “exploits” — that leave you vulnerable to security breaches. That’s why developers regularly release software patches and updates to fix those flaws and protect users, which need to be installed when they are issued.

If you’re having trouble navigating this new remote workspace, then reach out to NOVA Computer Solutions for help. We’re here to provide knowledge and guidance for businesses trying to maintain continuity and productivity during the coronavirus pandemic.

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