Tips for maintaining a secure remote work environment
March 30, 2020
The recent coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many of us work and will continue to work in the upcoming weeks based on the recently updated April 30 social distancing guidelines. More businesses are adopting work from home policies to maintain the safety of employees. For some, working remote is a normal routine but for many it presents new challenges. Regardless of which group you fall into, there are ways to maintain IT security and maximize productivity. The recommendations in this article will help your company and employees maintain the security of both personal and company information while working remotely.
The additional risk of remote working
Working from home presents several additional security challenges. For one, employees are often now forced to work on personal computers unless they have been issued laptop or PC. In an in office working scenario, companies employ IT Security at the software and hardware level to protect company resources. Examples of these include, Anti-virus, malware, web filtering software applications, firewalls and spam filtering. Unfortunately, some home computers do not always have the necessary security applications to mitigate online risk.
Employee Training is critical to protecting company resources and secure remote working
Employee and end user training is the foundation of any security strategy. Without basic IT security protocols organizations are often exposed to nefarious activity. First, make sure you have set up strong and secure password requirements and that employees are prompted to update passwords at minimum quarterly. Second, make sure they understand the risk of connecting to unknown and potentially insecure wireless connections. Educate employees on minimizing exposure to phishing attacks. Phishing attacks are more common than ever before. Ensure employees, only open emails from sender’s they are familiar with. Bad actors in some cases will attempt to purchase domain names that are very similar to the target company domain name and send phishing emails to employees that appear to be from a partner or coworker. Finally, emphasize the importance of not clicking or opening emails that contain attachments or links without knowing exactly the intent and sender of the message.
Ask your IT Support company about enabling multi Factor authentication
Multi factor authentication provides an additional layer of security for authenticating and gaining access to company resources. In a multi-factor authentication scenario, an associate would login to company application or email system and then be required to provide an additional device code to gain access. The most common use involves sending a code via text message to the end users’ mobile device or to an alternate email address to verify ownership and grant access to IT resources. Read more about it here.
Provide employees with the support number to your IT Services company
Provide your associates access to the telephone support number or ticketing system of your managed it service provider so they can quickly get the IT support they need to maintain productivity and efficiency. Our number is 678-534-8776 and email is support@trueitpros.com.
Ensure remote employees have the tools and latest operating system patches to stay secure.
Make sure employees are behind a secure home firewall and have the latest security patches applied to both their home and work computers. They should also have a reputable online virus and malware protection application installed. In some cases, your employees may need access to data and applications installed on their work computer. Contact your IT support company if you need to be able access to your work computer from home. There are several applications depending on the need that will allow employees to work virtually as if they were sitting in front of their office computer.
If you need assistance setting up a secure remote working environment call TrueITPros. Our support service area includes the Valdosta and metro Atlanta area including the following cities: Atlanta, Dunwoody, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Marietta, Norcross, Decatur, Buckhead, Kennesaw, Duluth, Snellville, Brookhaven and Lilburn. Many of our clients have multiple locations and out of state locations too.
If you are looking for s small business managed IT services and support company in Atlanta or Valdosta please call us at (678) 534-8776 or email us.