Working remotely is increasingly becoming popular across the mainstream, with many companies making it a mandatory policy. For instance, in the middle of the year, Goggle embraced its work-from-home policy for another year. Depending on the employees’ performance, that might be the norm in the coming days. Other reputable multinational companies that leveraged remote working successfully include Microsoft, Uber, Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, and Spotify.
While you might also be thinking about shifting your office to that extra room at home, it is important to understand that it comes with imminent risks such as cybersecurity. Remember, your company’s kind of protection and technology at the headquarters will no longer be available. Therefore, you have to take all the precautions necessary to protect the company’s sensitive data from landing in the wrong hands. Moreover, you might also want to protect your personal information, which could be detrimental to your reputation if leaked.
Therefore, what are the 5 key digital security tips that will come in handy when working from home? They include the following:
- Encrypting your data and communication
Your company obviously had a safe space to browse without anyone snooping into your history or trying to intercept your messages to clients and colleagues. Working from home means that you’ll often find yourself browsing online unencrypted, which leaks your IP address to anyone who might want to harm you or the company.
Moreover, your online activity also gets exposed to hackers who might master your routine and plan a deadly attack at your most vulnerable point. The last thing that you want is your company’s data getting in the hands of dark web commandos. Fortunately, you can prevent this from happening by leveraging a reliable VPN for Router to mask your digital footprints and protect all devices connected to the network. Even the rest of your family will benefit from this protection.
- Centralized storage solution
A breach of security into your company’s network system can lead to many atrocities, including files and information theft. Most hackers will try blackmailing you into restoring the stolen files or giving a special passkey that will give you access to your servers if at all they locked you out. While you might be tempted to give in to the demands, the result may not be pleasing on your end as the hackers might decide to sell the data to third parties even after getting your money. Having a centralized storage solution like cloud and hard drive backup means that you can restore whatever was stolen without necessarily going through the hassle of paying the ransom.
- Get reliable antivirus software
Most cybersecurity threats emanate ransomware attacks, DDoS attacks, malware, and even spyware. It is crucial to note that while you can be extra vigilant, some of these attacks will come unannounced and embedded in attractive links, messages, or emails. Therefore, you can find yourself giving in to a trap unknowingly. Nevertheless, getting reliable antivirus software will automatically protect you from a host of attacks. All you’ll need to do is ensuring that the software is updated on time.
- Adopt stronger and secure passwords
Using stronger passwords as a protection against unforeseen cyberattacks is often overlooked but can be effective, especially if you make it so. Both rookies and experienced cyber criminals can hack into your account by using brutal force to crack the password. Some may access your information from other websites and use it to make the right guess. To avoid that, consider using unique and long passwords that constitute both lowercase and capital letters, special characters, and numbers. Most importantly, avoid turning basic information into passwords, such as your last name, the name of your child, or even date of birth. Depending on how often you access different platforms that require password login, we recommend changing your passwords every three months.
- Keep family members away from your working space
Lastly, you might also want to keep your family members away from your workspace, as they can easily be exploited to share your data. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shut down schools and colleges, leaving most children idle and bored. They can only get relief from playing video games on mobile phones, tablets, or computers. Your family accessing your devices means that you’ll have to share passwords such that they can unlock even in your absence. Moreover, you don’t know who your kid might be talking to on social media. Allowing them into your workspace can also mean accessing sensitive files for specific bad people. Consider putting your working room under key and lock at all times.
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people work, practicing the above digital security habits will ensure that your company, family, and private data are safe, unless you give in willingly. As for your passwords, we recommend not sharing with anyone, including your supervisor or spouse. At the end of the day, you never know where the weak link is.