Now more than ever, remote working is becoming an integral part of keeping many businesses active during these unprecedented times. From government lockdowns to travel bans, people have been forced to work from home as the world struggles with uncertainty. Statistics show that in the US, about 39% fewer people have been working in their offices since the start of the pandemic, indicating the need for efficient at-home working technology.
Additionally, it’s important to note that with increases in remote working has come an increase in security risks. Threat actors want to take advantage of businesses who were unprepared to make the switch to remote networks by exploiting new security weaknesses and stealing their data. Considering these threats, when it comes to setting up your remote workforce, it is critical that the setup is performed properly and securely to keep your data safe.
This article will share ways in which you can secure your workforce as they remote work and protect your data:
1. Ensure All Devices Accessing Your Data Are Secure
The foundations of any secure home working come from the devices you are working on. Many businesses have found it useful to implement BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies for at-home working, indicating the types of devices employees are allowed to use and under what circumstances. You should also make sure you and your employees use file encryption, especially if any files are being stored on personal computers.
Another resource to secure devices is to implement multifactor authentication wherever you can. This helps add another layer of protection to files and ensures that only those who are authorized to access certain data will be able to view it.
2. Make Sure All Employees Have a Stable Home Internet Connection
Another way in which remote working and using home networks can be improved for better output is by making sure each employee has a stable Internet connection. A stable Internet connection requires upload and download speeds that can manage the resources you use digitally. If your connection is not stable, it could be easily targeted as data transfers are slower.
If you’re performing minimal tasks such as sending emails and reading news pages, you can get by with a download speed of around 10 to 12 Mbps. For high-performance work, heavy data downloads, and video conferences and streaming, the faster the download speed, the better the performance. Normally, if you’re at 20 Mbps or above, your Internet connection should remain stable.
3. Use a VPN If You Typically Rely on In-House Servers
When working from an office, you may normally rely on in-house servers, but you cannot access them from home without a secure VPN connection. The next best alternative is to have a VPN. You can set up a VPN with the help of a managed service provider who offers network connectivity services.
It is important that you do not allow VPN connections from any old device or system as it could easily impact security if it’s not properly checked and managed. You can set up a VPN on a company computer by downloading and installing your firewall’s VPN client software, entering your organization’s public IP address, followed by entering your username and password to connect.
4. Use a Remote Desktop Server
Businesses may also choose to connect to work computers via a Remote Desktop Server. Remote Desktop Services, known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to take control of a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection.
Using almost any computer, you can open a connection back to your Remote Desktop Server and access a personal desktop from anywhere. You may need to make adjustments to your router—specifically, establish port forwarding. Your IT team can help with this.
As you and your employees implement these secure ways to setup a remote network, you can avoid data loss and keep files secure. Partnering with a Managed Service Provider to implement these resources can ensure they are set up correctly and safely to make sure your business runs optimally, even during the pandemic.