COVID-19 has forced many employees to work remotely instead of from their cubicles and offices. But what does this mean for your security?
Some business leaders, including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, believe that the shift to working from home may affect workforces for years to come. The change would help employees stay healthy, but it could also create cybersecurity issues for businesses.
Whether your workers will come back to the office soon or continue working remotely, cybersecurity training is critical to protect your company and clients. Security is one area you don’t want to compromise when it comes to IT, and by training your employees to implement cybersecurity best practices, you can better protect your business.
Hackers Will Target Any Vulnerability
Savvy hackers will look for any vulnerability that helps them attack targets. Remote workforces multiply potential vulnerabilities because many employees don’t know how to keep their connections and files secure.
Cybersecurity training should therefore include training on topics, such as the following:
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- Setting up a firewall and VPN. Your employees should know how to safely access company data by using a private connection rather than their own Internet connection.
- Controlling access to information. Employees should have a clear understanding of who is authorized to view certain files to prevent inappropriate data sharing.
- Using endpoint encryption. Employees should understand the importance of encryption and where they are storing files to ensure data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
The more training your employees receive, the harder it becomes for cybercriminals to take advantage of them.
Remote Workers Might Use Unauthorized Applications
Your employees likely rely on various software to do their jobs. In the office, you have some control over what applications they use. You might have some problems with employees using “shadow IT” at work, but you can control most instances of people installing unauthorized apps.
You lose that control when your employees work remotely. They can install anything that they want on their personal devices. Unfortunately, some of those apps behave like malware. If they can access your network, they can steal sensitive data.
Cybersecurity training can teach your employees about the threats of downloading and installing unauthorized apps. Once they know the danger, they can make better decisions about the software they use.
Employees Don’t Always Know How to Identify Phishing Emails
Most people think that they can spot a phishing email. In reality, about 90% of data breaches involve phishing. That statistic suggests that a lot of people cannot identify phishing attempts as well as they believe.
Even if you have taught your employees how to recognize phishing emails, now is a great time to remind them. Your cybersecurity training should teach them to forward suspicious emails to their managers or IT team.
Some common traits of phishing emails include:
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- Poor writing with misspellings and bad grammar.
- Generic greetings such as “sir” or “madam.”
- Requests for personal information.
- Strange addresses with misspelled names or URLs (for example, “contact@paypel.eu,” looks like a PayPal address at first glance).
Anything that seems odd should get flagged and reported. Also, make sure your employees understand the threat of opening email attachments. Attachments can contain malware that infects their computers and your network.
Remote Work Makes It Harder to Track Security Threats
When employees use the computers in your building, you can block and track security threats. For example, you can block websites that will try to install malware on your network.
Once your employees start working remotely, however, it becomes more challenging to track security threats. You can’t monitor everything that they do from their homes.
You can make cybersecurity easier by getting IT security services from AxiaTP. AxiaTP’s security benefits include:
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- Treat exposures that identify vulnerabilities in your system and recommend ways to fix the problems.
- Comprehensive reporting that gives you an in-depth look at your system, including emerging weaknesses that will become more problematic as your employees continue working remotely.
- Product and service advice that will help you adopt a sound security strategy that meets your business’s needs.
Get in touch with AxiaTP today to learn more about your IT consulting, security as a service and managed IT service options. Your workforce needs cybersecurity training to keep your business safe. Implementing cybersecurity training and other security measures will make it even harder for criminals to take advantage of you while your team practices social distancing.