Cyber Security Threats when you Work from Home.

It’s so important to know how to keep your files safe when staff are working from home, a data breach could work out to be very costly.

Have you thought about how to keep your business data/files safe?

Working from home comes with great benefits; Saving time with not having to commute, a better work life balance and being able to do a Zoom call in a shirt, tie and pyjama bottoms. But we could end up in a lot of trouble if we don’t take cyber security seriously when working from home or working away from the office.

Cyber criminals come with various levels of experience and qualifications just like the conventional criminal. From the petty thief teenager trying their luck to major organised crime gangs.

When trying to advise small business owners of the need for an adequate level of cyber security for home workers, the most common objection we hear is that “we’re only a small business”, hackers wouldn’t be interested in us.

WRONG! You’re low hanging fruit, you’re under protected, vulnerable and an easy payday for the cyber criminal. You’re a prime target!

So what should we do to protect our staff when working from home?

Absolute minimum best security practices:

  1. The hard drive on the ‘working from home’ laptop MUST be encrypted.
  2. There must be a policy for strong secure passwords in place.
  3. The laptop must have managed and monitored endpoint security.
  4. If connecting to a company server, use a secure VPN.
  5. If using Microsoft 365 ensure it’s set up securely.
  6. Ensure Multi Factor Authentication is enforced.
  7. Have a secure working from home policy that staff understand and agree to.
  8. Make staff aware of how cyber criminals may target them.

This is the absolute minimum level of protection you should have in place to keep yours and your client’s data safe.

If the laptop is lost or stolen, having an encrypted drive means the data stays safe. Having managed and monitored endpoint security means your IT Support company will be alerted if a virus or malware is found. And with Multi Factor Authentication, there’s an additional layer of security if passwords get cracked.

If you’d like help with securing your staff working from home or could just do with some advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Book a 20 minute call and let’s get your security up to scratch.