The Pandemic Coronavirus is changing the daily routine of thousands of people worldwide, including where they work. Many employees are offering their employees to work from home. Many corporations such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple have already announced they are offering their employees to work from home in response to help protect against the harmful COVID-19. Companies are trying to protect the health of their employee and help the spread of the disease.
Working from home is suitable and even required as part of the business continuity plan but is not as safe for the services and data you are accessing remotely. It introduces new security concerns, especially for those employees who are not familiar with working away from the office. Many security measures which are in position at your office, possibly will not be in place on your home network. These security measures include firewalls, web filtering, and data encryption.
Working from home creates a unique challenge for information security because working from home usually does not have the same safeguards as in the office. When an employee is working at the office behind layers of preventive security controls, it is harder to make a security mistake at the office under preventive controls. However, when the computer leaves the boundary and people work from home, new risks start for the company, and additional security policies are important.
Below are some tips to stay secure while working from home:
Use Trusted wifi Only:
A lot of people use public wifi at airports, coffee shops, libraries, etc. to stay connected both personally and professionally. However, by using a public Wifi connection, you are possibly making an easy entry for hackers to access your data and information. Public Wifi introduces a major security risk and can be avoided if possible.
If you want to access the public internet, you have to solve two important problems. First, people have access to that public network, and without the firewall between you and them, warning actors can pound away at your computer from across the room. Secondly, any interested spectator on either the current public network or any other network your data hits between you and your place of work can monitor your traffic as it goes by. It is essential to find a mode to secure your PC and encrypt your traffic.
One right choice is to use a virtual private network, which is exceptionally important for establishing a secured connection to work files and personal photos saved in the cloud.
Be aware of Spam mails:
We have noticed hackers attempt to take benefit of people’s fears by pretending to sell face masks online to trick innocent people into giving away their credit card details. Do not click on any link or open any emails that seem doubtful.
Enable two-factor verification:
Those systems that need access from the internet, particularly essential ones such as work systems, email, or messaging apps, have to be protected. Enable two-factor verification ensures that hackers can not get in if they have guessed your password or stolen your credentials.
Stay in close contact with your employer:
It is easy to stay on top of company communications. Your message box may contain emails about enhancements in company policies ranging fro work hours to travel. While working from home, you will require to communicate with your team and others. Always check which options have end to end encryption before selecting a tool to use.
Your boss may consolidate coronavirus-related information on the company intranet. It is essential because the company all over the world continue to react t developments around the COVID-19 Pandemic. It is essential to know new policies to help keep you, your colleagues, and the business safe.
Develop a new routine:
Working from home needs changing your routine. It involves structuring your day to work effectively and maintain good contact with your colleagues. If you are in the habit of starting the day by greeting your colleagues, you may consider continuing to do that by using chatbot or email. It is straightforward to feel isolated when working from home. Take steps to avoid letting that happen. Try to stay engaged with your coworkers. The COVID-19 Pandemic might have changed your work life, but you still have work to do.
Conclusion:
While useful technologies and policies help, the truth is that the employees who make a business go are a primary possibility of risk. General Work from home or remote work policies on computer and internet use can help, and these policies can be enforced with both administrative and technical control. There are a lot of security awareness items that will help employees act safely with corporate information and devices, no matter where they are working.
