As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact local businesses, an increasing number of employees are working from home. Unfortunately, remote work increases the risks of cybersecurity breaches. We’ve outlined a list of cybersecurity tips you can implement to keep your business safe during this pandemic:
Policy: Review and update any existing remote work policies or disaster recovery plans. This is a great time to establish basic guidelines for working on personal devices and accessing company files remotely.
Communication: Make sure employees understand how to use group chats, voice, and video conferencing tools to maintain productivity and collaboration.
Preparation: Give everyone your IT Managed Service Provider’s (IT MSP’s) contact information and explain when they should reach out to them.
- Remind employees that company-related information like customer, employee, administrative, or product information is confidential and needs to be protected.
- Make sure your company information is being encrypted when sent to or from remote devices (Your IT MSP will manage this for you).
- Train employees on how to identify and handle phishing attacks. Several coronavirus-based phishing emails are circulating currently. Make sure your employees understand not to click on links from unauthorized sources.
- Instruct employees not to share their work laptop or mobile device with anyone else in the home.
- Remind employees to exclusively use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access company information. Your VPN will encrypt internet traffic to protect it from malicious actors. Your IT MSP will make sure your VPN is operating correctly and is updated with the latest patches.
- Never download or save company information to personal or cloud devices like employee computers, thumb drives, Google Drive or Dropbox.
- Make sure security software is implemented on all employee devices and updated. Again, your IT MSP will manage this for you.
- Do not allow access to company information on public wi-fi.
- Turn off “remember password” functions on personal devices when accessing company information and applications.
- Implement two-factor or multi-factor identification. Most companies already have this in place to meet industry compliance standards.
If you need help with remote access for your employees, feel free to contact us. We will make sure your team has the access and protections they need to continue working effectively from home. Please call (914) 934-9775 or email us at info@p-connect.com with any questions or comments. We are committed to providing reliable support for our clients during these trying times. You need us, we’re here for you!