Many people are working from home because of the current pandemic, which has presented businesses with a new challenge of keeping data secure with a remote workforce.

This is a major challenge since many home offices are more vulnerable to hacking and data breaches because they don’t have the security measures. Luckily, if you’re a business owner in this situation, there are steps you can take to mitigate security risks. Read on to know how to keep your business secure with a remote workforce:

Secure The Home Networks and Mandate the Use of VPNs

Most home Wi-Fis are not secured; this is dangerous because the risk might come from any source, including family members connected to the network.

VPNs are built differently, and the one you pick for your business should come from a reputable company that doesn’t log your business’s activity. Read CyberGhost VPN review to know more about activity logging and what it means for businesses.

Using a VPN is one of the best practices businesses can implement to secure their data and remote workforce. A VPN encrypts all data transfers, allowing confidential and personal data to tunnel from one device to the next while staying hidden from prying eyes.

However, keep in mind that using a VPN slows internet speeds, but this is a small price to pay to keep data secure.

Communicate Company Policies

Your employees must know that protecting company data is their number one priority when working from home. Please don’t assume that your employees have the same level of online security awareness at home as they do while in the office.

Use A Secure Home Wi-Fi Network

Any connection involving your business should take place on a secure network. Your employees should conduct no business work on any public Wi-Fi or access point. Sending data on an unsecured connection is a sure way of losing privacy, making it easy for criminals to intercept and compromise business data.

Secure Home Workstations

Your employees need to know that in addition to protecting their Wi-Fi and devices with passwords, the devices must have updated antivirus and antimalware software installed. Insecure functions such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) must be disabled. Also, don’t use the default logins for your Internet of Things devices (IoT). Change them to something more secure.

Keep the Devices Updated

Regardless of the operating system that your employee is using, remind them to install all the patches and updates because they have crucial security features. As the employer, you can require all devices accessing your network to have a specific update installed.

Require Two-factor Authentication

Inform your staff to set up two-factor authentication on all their accounts. This authentication method is important because it requires anyone attempting to login to a network using your device to use the link or a verification code sent to either a mobile number or an email address. This process adds a layer of protection even if the password is compromised.

Encrypt All Emails

Your employees might know how to avoid spam and phishing emails, but hackers are improving their tactics, so remind them to stay vigilant.

Encryption is important if your customer representatives are part of your remote workforce. The customer service department handles critical customer and company information, and if the representatives are not vigilant enough, they can fall for a disguised email from a hacker. So, encrypt all email information so only the intended recipient will see it.

Limit File Access

Assign proper roles and responsibilities because not all your employees need to access all your files and applications. Once you assign the roles and responsibilities, match them with the files and applications needed to perform work duties.

Limiting file access is crucial for the safety of company data because even if a hacker compromises one employee’s account, the damage will be limited as they still won’t have access to all files and applications.

Encourage The Staff to Report Suspicious Activities

Regardless of the security measures you have in place to keep your business secure with a remote workforce, an accident can happen. One of your workers might click and open an infected file, click a suspicious link, or get tricked by a phishing scam. Help your employees to feel free and report any incident as soon as it happens for quick fixing.

Create Data Backups

Working remotely is the best time to install a proper backup and storage solution to prevent data loss. The risk of data loss is much greater when employees access the files via the cloud, where an accidental delete can be detrimental to your business.

Create a good backup and storage system with periodic backup functions to guarantee maximum safety of data.

Call the Professionals

If you’re still concerned about the safety of your company data with a remote workforce, call the IT Systems professionals. Such a team will work with your IT department, assess and evaluate your online safety strategies and present recommendations to improve your security.