Smart working: how to mitigate cyber risks
Smart working is a fertile ground for cyber threats and criminals.
As steps to counter the coronavirus outbreak take effect, millions of workers worldwide have been sent home with their laptops many times. Cybercrime is a silent actor that attempts to exploit remote working vulnerabilities.
Indeed, remote workers can potentially present a number of cybersecurity risks to organizations, and cybercriminals are finding more ways to exploit these weaknesses. With remote work, indeed, attack surfaces are being multiplied. As users, we should never let the guard down. A combination of procedures, tips, precautions, and training could mitigate risks to a great extent.
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Smart working: computer setting up
When smart working, the golden rule says that organizations should provide their dependents’ hardware and software. In actual fact, indeed, that during the pandemic, the world has registered a surge in cyberattacks. If this is not possible and an organization plans or employees to use their own equipment, ensure that everything they use is up to the job.
This often happens with small or micro-enterprises, worried about soaring costs. In any case, bigger enterprises should always give employees the appropriate and secure working tools.
Let’s explore those that cannot afford IT equipment for their employ.
As an employer, you should check that your employees’ hardware and operating system are secure enough for your type of activity.
Make sure, for instance, that for installing and running the software your people will use. Also, if the machine they will be using is underpowered, users may struggle to run multiple business applications at once.
However, do not forget that this is the last option to undergo. Private hardware often lacks necessary hardening and security to protect work and sensitive business data from intrusion and violation.
Finally, it would be best to take similar precautions with your mobile equipment.
No ‘shadow’ IT!
A considerable share sensitive enterprise data goes to the cloud in high or medium-risk applications, not approved by their employers. This practice refers to the term ‘shadow IT,’ whereby staff starts using software for business purposes that the IT department has not checked.
Failure to outline the tech equipment they need, along with a whitelist of approved software, poses a great risk. For instance, it could pave the way for adopting apps that are vulnerable to exploits.
The pandemic has induced many businesses to perform collaboration, team management, and communication software for the first time. IT has the duty to ensure that deployed apps have end-to-end-to-end encryption, multifactor authentication, and a good operational reputation.
Finally, businesses should provide a secure connection. VPNs could secure connections from domestic routers. Routers firmware should be updated to the latest version. Switching off WPS could enhance its security, too.
Conclusion: concluding remarks and other suggestions.
In conclusion, we have briefly outlined some suggestions that businesses could use to secure their employees when smart working. We also have additional suggestions.
Remember that company security policies still apply even at home. Downloading forbidden and non-secure apps are not an option. Do not visit off-limits websites too.
Secondly, make sure your passwords are strong. Two-factors identification is a great tool that could secure apps and accounts from unwanted access. Also, it uses a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols when setting passwords. And do not forget to change them regularly.
Last but not least, be aware of phishing. Have you received an email from a delivery company urging you to click on a link for something you have not ordered? This is a scam, do let them in your device, then!