Everyone knew that working remotely was the future of the way we do business. It’s just that most people probably didn’t realize “the future” would come along quite as quickly as it did.
Since the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, more people have been working remotely than ever. At one point a majority of people in the United States were under stay-at-home orders, forcing them into the wonderful world of telecommuting for the first time. Thankfully, a lot of them have been able to embrace the transition – to the point where companies as we know it will look very, very different than they once did when things return to “normal” in just a few weeks time.
But having said that, while it’s undoubtedly true that working remotely brings with it a wide array of different advantages, it’s equally fair to say that it opens us all up to new challenges, too. This is particularly true when it comes to cybersecurity – one of the most pressing issues of the modern era.
Therefore, if you really want to keep your workforce protected AND productive with everyone working from home, there are a few key things you’ll want to keep in mind.
Encryption Matters More Than Ever
Protecting your business’ critical data while at rest – meaning while it is sitting on a hard drive or personal computer somewhere – has always been important. In fact, you probably already employ this type of encryption for your remote workers by default. But now that everyone is accessing your business’ network infrastructure from so many disparate locations, you also need to make sure that you’re using in-transit encryption across your enterprise.
As the name suggests, in-transit encryption means that information is protected not only while it is being stored, but while it is being accessed – meaning while it is either being downloaded to or uploaded from a remote machine. You can’t expect your employees to handle this particular best practice on their own – this is something that is an important part of the business infrastructure that someone is remotely connecting to.
The Importance of Secure Devices
Along the same lines, understand that your business’ network is only as strong as its weakest link – meaning that you can take all the precautions in the world and it ultimately won’t mean a difference if your own employees aren’t taking steps to protect themselves.
Therefore, the advice in this category is two-fold. First, you need to invest in cybersecurity awareness training for all of your remote workers and you need to do so immediately. People can’t be expected to defend against intrusion attempts and phishing attacks if they don’t actually know how to identify one themselves.
Secondly, reach out to your employees and make sure that they have secure personal devices that they can use to work remotely in the first place. If they don’t, consider deploying such devices to as many people as you’re able to. Yes, it’s an expense you probably don’t want to have to deal with right now. But when you consider that the average cost of a cyber attack was roughly $1.1 million in 2018 and 2019, it’s clear that this is one expense that is more than worth it.
But maybe the most important thing to understand is that remote work isn’t going away anytime soon. For years, businesses have been reluctant to embrace this trend because of the potential “hassle” that it represented. Not only has COVID-19 left them no choice, but it’s also true that the pandemic has probably turned a lot of jobs into “remote positions” permanently, essentially overnight.
Therefore, if you truly want to take advantage of the “new normal” that we’re all about to enter into, you need to come to grips with the fact that remote work is here to stay and you need to start embracing it with open arms.
Contact us today to discuss digital security for your company!
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