Cybersecurity tips for remote workers

Moving to a home office can be overwhelming and create cybersecurity issues for you, your team and organization – particularly on short notice!

Here are some tips to make your home office and organization more secure:

1. Virtual Private Network (VPN): Provide a VPN for staff to connect securely to your organization’s network.
2. Remote-work plan: If you have a remote-work plan, ensure you share it with your staff.
3. Be suspicious of unexpected emails: If you get an unusual-looking email, don’t open it. The goal of phishing emails is to gain information about you, steal your money, or install malware on your devices. For a refresher on spotting phishing emails, read our post, “Five ways to spot phishing email scams.”
4. Back up to the Cloud: Sync your important data to the Cloud to ensure that if your computer ever goes down, you’ve got a back-up.
5. Home office security: Store computer hardware in secure areas (such as locked drawers or rooms) to ensure they are physically safe and secure.
6. Get smart about passwords: Using easy-to-guess passwords and reusing them can turn your life upside down – just ask anyone who’s been hacked. Ensure your passwords are strong and different for each account. If you need help tracking your passwords, you can use an encrypted file password service, such as 1Password.
7. Turn on 2FA everywhere: Two-factor authentication offers a second roadblock for potential hackers. If a service or account offers 2FA, you should turn it on.
8. Update your software: Hardware and software vendors provide updates when they discover vulnerabilities in their systems. Update your software to the latest version to ensure your devices remain safe and secure. Remember, only apply updates from the vendor’s website or built-in application stores. Third-party application stores may be unreliable; when purchasing a new device, ensure the manufacturer provides regular software updates and support.
9. Monitor the Dark Web and implement security protocols: Be proactive! Monitor your email addresses and domains to ensure you’re not on the dark web, and implement security protocols to ensure you don’t end up there. Read “Lessons from the Canva hack” to learn about the dark web and implementing security protocols.