When employees use devices outside the office’s protection, sensitive company information can be put at risk. But, at the same time, telecommuting gains more strength every day, companies are aware of the need to reconcile and the benefits of flexible schedules. So, the question is: how do we stimulate telecommuting without jeopardizing business information? The key is in the education in cybersecurity of the employees and in the use of equipment with safety measures incorporated at the factory and designed specifically for teleworking.
In order for companies to access their employees in a secure way, it is essential that there is a protocol that establishes how to act. One of the most common practices is the use of remote desktops and connection to a VPN network. This facilitates that the worker can access his equipment from home and also that he has access to a secure network where all the traffic that is generated maintains the confidentiality of the information. It allows the employee to connect directly with the server of the company in which the information is stored, from which backups are made automatically, avoiding a possible loss of information. But this has to bring the awareness of workers to keep their passwords safe and avoid connecting to Wi-Fi networks (especially if they are open networks).
Another point that workers have to pay attention to is the type of navigation they do on the Web. Especially to suspicious links and fraudulent pages that impersonate official websites to obtain user credentials. This technique, known as phishing, consists of making exact copies of real pages to deceive the user and make him put his personal access data. If you provide your data as a worker to a fraudulent page, you are opening the door of the company’s most sensitive information.
It is also key not to forget the basics: choose and protect access passwords well. It never hurts to remember, since year after year the most used password is still 123456. One of the main threats to a company’s cybersecurity is the bad habits of its workers: having simple passwords or not installing updates are just two examples . Leaving the device on the table without supervision is another.
The research carried out to date highlights the benefits of this trend and ensures that working a day or two a week from home increases the motivation and productivity of employees, in addition to their well-being by reducing stress due to travel to the office and the difficulties to reconcile.
SOURCE: The Retina Country
