Here are workplace security tips. While the benefits of remote work are many, security is one of the biggest concerns for companies thinking about adopting remote work policies. This is especially true when companies are already battling with the security challenges that come with BYOD, like lost and stolen devices.
Why Remote Workplace Security is Important
According to a study, 43% of people have lost their smartphone or tablet while on corporate property, and 41% have had their mobile devices lost or stolen. Worse still, employees who have had their devices stolen say they are unaware of their device contains company data (79%). In all, almost half (46%) of lost or stolen devices are never recovered by their owners.
However, remote workers aren’t completely unprotected. If a remote worker is traveling for an extended period, for example, the best protection is to leave a backup copy of his/her files at home or in the office on an encrypted backup drive.
If there is any question about returning to the office or coming home on a certain day, he/she can call the office and make sure that the backup drive has been picked up and stored in a secure place. An even better option is to store it in an offsite location like secure cloud storage.
Backup drives also protect from ransomware attacks should a company be hit with one. In today’s business climate, it’s not just laptops that need protection—it’s everything that leaves your business—whether it’s a server or an employee who brings home his/her laptop each evening.
The best advice for enterprises is to assume that employees will steal data at some point—remote workers included—and make sure you have a backup plan in place.
Remote Workplace Security Tips for Enterprises
The following are some remote workplace security tips for enterprises:
- Always keep a backup copy of your data in a secure offsite location, preferably encrypted cloud storage.
- Employ a strong firewall policy.
- Encrypt all data on the device.
- Use the strongest passwords possible and change them regularly.
- Don’t store sensitive information on the device.
Let us discuss each of these briefly in detail:
Always keep a backup copy of your data in a secure offsite location, preferably encrypted cloud storage.
Encrypting the data stored on mobile devices is an important step to protect against data loss or theft. Without encryption, without encryption corporate data can be accessible by anyone who has access to the device. Of which also increases the risk of a data breach. Deploying mobile device management (MDM) solutions that support encryption is one of the most effective ways to protect corporate data on mobile devices. Encryption should be used on all corporate devices, whether they are managed by an MDM solution or not.
Employ a strong firewall policy
A firewall policy helps protect against network intrusions by providing authentication and authorization procedures, requiring authentication before permitting access from external networks like the Internet. A strong firewall policy requires strong passwords, restricts traffic based on source IP address limitations, restricts ports, blocks communications with specific IP addresses or domains, and filters outbound traffic (which helps prevent exfiltration). It also requires employee compliance with policies around acceptable use for email attachments and downloads, web browsing, etc.
Use the strongest passwords possible and change them regularly
Strong passwords are an absolute must in today’s business world, especially when it comes to remote workers. Passwords should always be at least 12 characters long. Perhaps with a mix of types of characters, and should change every three months or so.
Don’t store sensitive information on the device.
Most organizations have a strict policy in place that prohibits storing sensitive data on mobile devices. In addition, remote workers should be sure to maintain and protect any sensitive data that is on their devices. That is, including ensuring backup data is also protected sufficiently. This policy helps prevent breaches, as well as loss or theft of devices.
