With the Covid-19 pandemic, many organisations have been forced to embrace working from home. However, working remotely has created the need for better security in home offices, the biggest being the data security risk. However, that doesn’t mean should be paying less attention to the physical security of your home office.
Did you know creative hackers can take advantage of companies with excellent security practices and policies? Understanding the security threats you are likely to face is crucial in keeping your home networks and devices safe when working remotely. Please continue reading below to learn how you can improve the security of your home office:
Security Risks Of Remote Work
Working from home provides greater flexibility to employees but may pose significant security risks. Some of the most common security risks of remote work include:
1). Phishing Emails
Most hackers deliver malware through phishing emails. Hackers rely heavily on trending stories that influence the emotions of the email receivers to open the emails. Most of the time, the hackers are interested in getting log-ins or downloading malicious software hence granting access to the hackers.
Individuals who work from home are more prone to phishing since they lack the luxury of directly enquiring about certain emails. Companies should take it upon themselves to train employees to detect phishing emails. Companies should also commit to constantly reminding remote employees to make sure they only use their own devices or software when they need to access the corporate network.
2). Weak Passwords
The human factor makes handling corporate networks harder. Most employees use multiple passwords at once, making them difficult to recall. Employees end up storing them in insecure ways, such as having sticky notes on their monitors. Most remote workers do not lock their computers when taking breaks because they assume homes should be safe.
Cybercriminals take advantage of the complacency of home workers to access sensitive information from their computers. We recommend for people avoid using the same passwords repeatedly and resist including personal information in their passwords. We recommend employees use passphrases since they are more difficult for hackers to crack. Passphrases must also not include personal or any corporate information.
3). Unsecured Home Devices
Most employees work remotely using their devices, increasing the risk of sensitive data. While most companies provide virtual private networks and single sign-on network solutions to keep their connections safe, most employees do not remember to secure gadgets such as mobile devices. Hackers take advantage and use these gadgets as entry points.
4). Home Wi-Fi
Employees working from home full time easily forget about home routers when checking their security. Wi-Fi networks need to be updated, without which they provide security gaps for hackers. For better information security, it is advisable to have Wi-Fi network passwords changed regularly. Remote workers should not include any identifying information in their naming or passwords.
How To Improve Security While Working From Home
According to Australian home burglary and security statistics, over 4% of Australian households faced actual break-in attempts. While working at home, you should ensure business and personal information and your office are physically secure. Some of the ways you can improve home security include:
1). Segmentation
Employees working remotely need to segment their home IT environments practically. Employees, for example, should consider having a working machine that is not used for personal activities such as web browsing or entertainment. If you are an employee who does not know how to go about segmentation, you should consider talking to an IT professional.
2). Patching
Unpatched systems are part of the leading causes of the breach. Companies should consider remotely patching their employees. Employees should also seek guidance on the patching of home Wi-Fi routers.
3). Phishing
IT leaders should guide employees on how to watch out for malicious emails. They should also provide employees with email filtering tools to enhance information security.
4). Password Hygiene
It is not enough to have employees move past weak passwords. Storing strong passwords in unencrypted documents within their devices is equally dangerous. Organisations should ensure they provide employees with password managers and multi-factor authentication.
Enhance Your Life with Advanced Living Solutions
Today’s online world allows employees to work from anywhere. Keeping your organisation and especially the remote workforce protected should be a priority. Understanding the risks of remote working makes it easier to keep your organisation’s systems and data safe.
At Advanced Living Solutions, our role is to ensure that we provide you with the best home security solutions and a wide range of smart home automation products.
Please call us today on (03) 9212 7999 or leave an enquiry to learn more!
