Coronavirus is prompting companies across the globe to implement working-from-home (WFH) strategies, and quickly.

This presents new opportunities for teams to modernise and re-think how they connect, collaborate and deliver services.

However, the rush for tech teams to transition organisations to a whole new way of working is also unfortunately creating a number of new opportunities for cybercriminals.

To help your business remain as secure as possible while WFH, we’ve put together our four tips for stronger home working cybersecurity.

1. Connect securely to your network

So many of us are accessing our workplace files from outside the office – but are you and your team covering the basics when it comes to connecting securely? Ensure that you:

• Set up home working devices safely: Misconfigurations can lead to security flaws. Employees who have never used a VPN (or your connection of choice) need ample instruction and support to minimise risks to your corporate network.
• Verify users: As many of us aren’t currently communicating or working face to face, there is a growing need for authentication and verification. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) to verify users and devices connecting to your network.
• Control data privileges: With your whole team accessing business data remotely, keeping track of who has access to what is essential for minimising data security threats. Desktop as a service solutions (DaaS) make this particularly easy to manage, as all your business data and user access are controlled from a central point.
• Connect to private Wi-Fi networks only: Notify your workforce of best practice Wi-Fi security. Ensure everybody has updated default Wi-Fi passwords with a stronger alternative and only connects to a secured, private Wi-Fi network when working from home.
• Implement a lost/stolen device policy: Where possible, avoid the storage of critical business data on home working devices to avoid potential data breaches if they are stolen or lost.

2. Ensure software and antivirus are up to date

This comes back to basics. If you’re not using a DaaS solution, where all your software and applications are managed for you, you must ensure software and antivirus are kept up to date. If not, opportunistic cybercriminals may exploit vulnerabilities in your network, hacking your systems and causing a data breach.

3. Back up your data

Should anything happen to home working devices or office hardware, or your business data is targeted by a cyber-attack, retrieval of as much of that information as possible is essential. Ensure your business-critical data is backed up to a location totally separate to your corporate network. For ease, first centralise the storage of all business-critical data from which secure off-site backups can be regularly generated.

4. Be mindful of compliance

There are still large financial and reputational repercussions involved with non-compliance. For some, complying with industry standards may depend on employees being within your secured office premises and may not account for a remote working scenario. Double-check exactly what is required of your business to maintain compliance standards and how you can adapt your WFH strategy to accommodate these requirements.

Secure remote working, managed

The ability for your business to adopt a WFH approach is essential in the current climate, whether it’s to cater to the expectations of modern workforces, ensure business continuity in adverse weather, or even to manage under the strain of a global pandemic.