Remote work has transformed how business data gets secured. Cybersecurity measures that create a strong perimeter around a brick-and-mortar office building do not work when dozens or hundreds of employees start accessing work data from home offices, coffeeshops, and coworking spaces worldwide. You need an entirely different approach to keeping corporate data secure in this “outside the office” scenario.
Device security is not enough. Remote workers use personal internet accounts, they often do not bother with even the most basic cybersecurity measures like a VPN, they connect to unsecured networks, and they may even use the same devices to conduct business and personal activities. These scenarios all create openings for cybercriminals. Work-from-home employees have made their business a target simply by announcing cybercriminals would have an easy time attacking them in their personal lives.
Reinventing the Security Landscape
Remote work has changed the game in terms of the “attack surface” companies must protect. The office is no longer a single building with a few entry points to worry about. Business in this new day and age of cybersecurity must account for dozens or hundreds of locations, many of which the company does not control. Home routers do not get updates, public Wi-Fi accounts might barely protect you, and your remote workers might be using devices that are not cyber-secure like company-issued devices.
As a result, entire new categories of risk are now common in scenarios that older, more traditional precautionary measures do not protect against anymore. Mappings of your employees’ network usage show man-in-the-middle attacks are a lot more common now that employees change networks to connect to for work with every passing hour. Phishing attacks have a higher chance of success when the potential victims do not have immediate access to technical support to explain issues that pop up on their devices or accounts. Data theft has never been easier for cybercriminals; all they need to do is gain access to a personal device that is not well protected by the same encryption measures company devices have.
Network Security Measures
Companies have started implementing redundant network security measures that might protect their employees despite where they are positioned while conducting their jobs.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) protect network traffic, but they are not the only security measure or system that remote work employees should adopt. Zero-trust solutions assume that every traffic data point on the network is dangerous and should be treated as such if proper precautions are not taken to avoid this assumption before they attempt to access company data.
For businesses that need additional anonymity and security when conducting research or competitive intelligence, high anonymity proxies can provide an extra layer of protection by masking the origin of network traffic and preventing tracking of business activities. This becomes particularly important when companies need to gather market intelligence or monitor competitors without revealing their identity or intentions.
Detection and response systems monitor patterns of individual devices and how people use them. If they detect malware or a hacker trying to gain access to a system, they immediately alert the user to the problem and quarantine the system in question.
Identity and Access Control Management
Remote work has changed how people must manage the identity of those trying to gain access to systems and networks. Companies must know who exactly is on their network and ensure that only the right people access sensitive files.
Two-step authentication is practically standard in the modern remote workplace, but a variety of more impressive and sophisticated systems are now available to the public to use, like biometric checks and external keys that customers can add to their devices. Bypassing passcodes might soon be a thing of the past with all the security measures now available on the market.
Role-based access management is also practically standard today. Firms give permissions to people on their network based on their job descriptions rather than giving them access to the entire network. Different staff members gain access to files based on what they need to do their jobs.
The last few years have also seen the rise of single sign-on systems. Instead of needing a different password for a million different systems every time they want to complete a task at work, employees today only need one simple password with insurmountable features behind it.
Protecting Company Data
A firm must keep business files private by encrypting files moving from one point to another as well as files that remain on devices after someone has uploaded or downloaded content.
Folder-level encryption ensures that any laptops or files people keep will not allow criminals easy access to work data if something happens to them after they leave a meeting. Work accounts on cloud storage systems allow firms to share business data with clients who meet incredible requirements regarding encryption.
Data loss prevention systems detect files leaving one system and being transmitted to another. They also detect communications between one party and another. Alerting firm staff is one thing; blocking individual file transfers is another thing that could save the firm’s data from falling into criminal hands.
Back Up Your Files
Technical issues with remote work devices require solutions every now and then. Backing files up in the cloud regularly allows you to recover lost business files if something happens to your device or your business.
Train Employees
Sometimes technology can only take you so far; people also need to be aware of the dangers of remote work scenarios and how they differ from the more traditional ways in which they conduct their tasks.
Security awareness training teaches firm staff how to identify networks that are secure enough for sensitive data to be transferred across. It can also make them aware of some potential phishing attacks specific to remote working environments. Simulated phishing attacks also teach people how to identify these situations without any real-world consequences.
Employees need policies for remote work situations. These policies must explain how their roles differ from traditional administrative staff roles or staff that complete their work in person. Policies should also clearly inform them of their expected behavior when they are performing their jobs. Punitive measures do not work; a happy medium must be found that makes employee compliance easy and not something they need to go out of their way to accomplish.
Effective remote work security requires comprehensive strategies that address network protection, identity management, data encryption, and employee training. Success depends on implementing multiple overlapping security measures that provide protection even when individual components fail or face sophisticated attack attempts.
