Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of working remotely has become more and more attractive to employees and employers alike. For one thing, remote working has made holding meetings more efficient, and cut down on travel costs!
However, when working with remote employees, there are a number of security issues you need to be aware of to make sure your data remains under lock and key. Working with people across the world via the web can create some serious data protection headaches – unless you are adequately prepared!
Let’s take a look at why remote working cybersecurity is such a hot topic right now, and what steps you can take to make sure your data (and reputation) are protected.
What are the biggest cybersecurity risks when working with remote teams?
When you work with remote employees, there’s no single, controlled environment. That means you don’t control your users’ typical security controls, such as through an office firewall and with malware protection.
When working with remote teams, you’re effectively at the mercy of the security measures individual employees put in place. For example, you can’t effectively control which devices people use to carry out your work – they might use personal smartphones or tablets, say, which are used by other people.
There’s also the fact that remote employees are wide open to phishing attacks and social engineering. Again, because you’re not directly managing or overseeing these employees, you never have a complete overview of what they’re doing. Yes – there are tools you can use to measure time and work completed – but what about security protocols?
That’s only scratching the surface of problems facing employers that are trying to safeguard their data security in a changing working landscape. Rather than worrying about every individual possible weakness, a better use of your time is to think about a preventative strategy – ensuring your remote employees are always working safely.
Focus on culture before tools and infrastructure
Yes – it really does pay to secure your data as much as possible with robust encryption and storage solutions, for example. Ideally, you should protect any data you use with professional software and maintain automated backups. Think about password standards, too, and perhaps use a company-wide password manager and generator.
However, it’s just as important, if not more so, to ensure that your remote teams understand the importance of cybersecurity. One of the best ways to do this is – whether through onboarding or regular meetings – to encourage a ‘zero trust’ mindset, shared across the company.
Zero trust in the context of cybersecurity simply means treating every request or attempt to access your company as suspicious. That might feel like it goes against the idea of ‘innocent before proven guilty’, but ultimately, when you don’t have complete physical control or oversight of your employees’ activities, it’s important to be as protective as possible.
Therefore, start by training your remote staff in these principles. Make sure anyone you work with remotely understands the potential risks they take when handling your data and systems – and require them to agree to and sign certain protocols.
Start creating a culture of zero trust
Here are a few ways you could start creating a zero trust culture with your remote teams:
- Encouraging your employees to report any concerns they might have regarding security, or any incidents they might spot while working remotely
- Establishing best practices when communicating via email and IM – for example, never revealing information to non-verified parties and avoiding phishing tactics
- Providing access to training materials and programs staff can complete in their own time – for example, through an online program where you can track their progress and their knowledge
- Devising role play scenarios where remote employees can demonstrate how they might react to potential security risks – such as phishing attempts
Creating and maintaining any kind of company culture remotely can be tricky. That’s why it’s important to set regular meetings and checkpoints with your team.
You don’t have to micromanage their every move. Simply require employees to be available for specific distanced meetings every week, for example. Check security knowledge randomly, but advise employees that these checks will occur throughout their contracts with you.
Above all, you should establish the potential fallout of ignoring security risks and avoiding best practices. You shouldn’t create a culture of fear – instead, make it clear to remote workers that security breaches are extremely serious, and where negligence or misconduct are concerned, disciplinary and even legal action can occur.
Other steps to take
Let’s close with a few final steps you can take to ensure your remote teams are working as securely as possible.
Firstly, to ensure a culture of regular meetings and checkpoints, make sure you have a VoIP / SIP trunking system in place to manage superfast connectivity with employees around the world.
Next, make sure to invest in company-wide protection that supports in-house and remote employees. For example, choose a professional, industry-standard password generator and protector where you can store strong, encrypted passwords only accessible by specific employees.
You should also work harder to encrypt your data flow with Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs. By connecting through a VPN, remote employees can effectively cloak themselves when working online. That prevents data from being easily intercepted – and ensures no one is able to listen in on your business activities.
Finally, always set up multi-factor authentication. MFA essentially requires people logging into your systems and networks to authenticate themselves with multiple devices. Think about how you might sign into a Google account, for example – you might set it up so that you need to enter a password and tap a button on a specific device you registered.
These are all great steps to take when trying to protect your company while allowing remote workforces to thrive. However, above all, you should make sure your team understands the risks involved with remote working, and the parts they play in keeping customer and company details safe.
