Teleworking Security

Remote work however, presents a unique challenge for information security as hundreds of thousands of data is being exchanged between home/public environments and cooperate environments. More worryingly is that, remote work environments do not have the same safeguards as in the office thus employees are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. For instance, when employees are at the office, they are working behind layers of preventive security controls (i.e., Firewalls, Access Controls etc.), but when computers leave the perimeter and people work remotely, new risks arise for the company therefore additional security policies are essential.

For this reason, our company has put the time and effort to search, extract and briefly point out 10 of the most important practices to help remote workers secure themselves as well as their companies. The following section is split into 2 categories which list out what a remote user should DO and what NOT DO in order to harden their security when working from home.

● Use VPN services to connect when outside of office.

● Use Anti-viruses and apply systematic scans.

● Ensure that the cooperate device operating system is up to date.

● Keep family members away from cooperate devices.

● Cover webcam if not in use.

DON’T(s):

● Do not leave the device expose in public spaces or home without locking it (screen saver OR shutdown).

● Do not connect corporate devices to personal devices (Smart-TV, Printers, Personal Assistants such as Alexa, USBs).

● Avoid remote connections from unsecure pubic networks (without a password), such as café or random public networks.

Christoforos Leontiou

Security Engineer

 V.L Toolbox Express Computer Solutions Ltd