How to Work Remotely (Safely and Securely)

19th June 2019

Working from home remotely is becoming more and more popular, particularly across tech-based roles, with start-ups and the increasing number of freelancers. However there are a number of security concerns which all remote workers should be aware of that could also prove to be huge security flaws which employees, and even their employers, are likely to be completely unaware of.

In light of this, we have put together a series of hints and tips for how to help secure your session(s) and your computers or devices when working remotely;

1. Public Wi-Fi: We would recommend not connecting to a public WiFi network (at all if you can help it), but especially not for remote work if at all possible. Public Wi-Fi far from guarantees your security and if anything actually leaves you more vulnerable to malicious attacks, content and snoopers on the same network. It is always recommended to use a personal (home or family member’s) Wi-Fi network or even a hotspot from your mobile phone when available; this is known as ‘tethering’; where you share the data connection of your smart phone with your tablet or laptop to enable it to access the internet), rather than your local coffee shop’s free wireless network. Also, encrypt your web connection by using a VPN!
2. System Updates: Always ensure that your devices‘ software and operating system (including apps) are up to date. Most operating systems and devices are able to download and install security updates for you automatically. Microsoft‘s updates include OS patches, bug fixes and security updates for Windows systems, and tend to be released on Tuesday evenings If you’d like to set an hour aside to review the changes? Alternatively, you can set Windows Updates to install automatically – meaning you can relax in the peace of mind knowing that your system will be running the latest Windows build.
3. Network Seperation: While connecting your personal laptop or device to a business network is helpful it could also present security risks. It is recommended that business networks are segmented in such a way to allow everyone to access resources, but at the same time, protect the network itself by preventing remote workers’ personal devices from communicating directly with any internal business systems or workstations. Resource use but not on-site system control. There are numerous ways of doing this, via internal routing using VLAN’s or via separate internal routers with customised firewall settings for instance.
4. Security for your EndPoints: From a security standpoint, it is important that IT departments or your IT team / consultant(s) can see what is happening with devices on and off the local network. This helps with the detection of abnormal behaviour that could assist in the protection of the entire network infrastructure – endpoint protection or internet security software is essential to safeguard your systems, network and ultimately, data!
5. Common Threat Detection : Ensuring that all staff are well educated in how to spot and stop a basic phishing attack and other common types of system attacks is a really good idea. Regular training and frequent refresher courses are critical to help any workforce learn how to pickup on and respond to these common attacks and alert IT consultants.
6. Password Policies: This has to be one of the world’s most overlooked security holes, as to many it’s just a big inconvenience. Passwords should be changed at a maximum interval of 60 days (preferably 30 days for mobile devices). Routers and other critical systems and network hardware should always have long password strings. Something the length of a full sentence works well to prevent unauthorised access and makes the job of brute-forcing the access it all the more difficult.
7. Two-Factor Authentication: Last but not least, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) literally adds an additional layer of security to any network. It is especially good for businesses, helping to prevent access by anyone but the pre-authorised employees. Access can be gained either via a PIN code or push notification code received by SMS (aka, text message) or email verification and ensures the user accessing the system has been authenticated, twice-over.

We understand that a someof the above may sound fairly technological and maybe a lot to take in, but if you’d like to discuss securing your IT network in order to safely allow remote working or even if you’re unsure of how secure your network or IT infrastructure actually is, then send us a message and get in touch with our friendly engineers.

Our team is ready and more than happy to talk over your existing set up, provide recommendations to tighten up your security or set up remote working for you and your staff.

How To...