With the last year’s surge in remote working, keeping company data safe from snoops and hackers has become of the utmost importance.
Below is a list of some of the ways you can keep such sensitive data safe when working from home.
Keep Strong Passwords
Strong passwords should always be in place for any device you use. Strong passwords are generally considered those with complex combinations or letters (both upper and lowercase), symbols and numbers that aren’t obvious – so no “password123”. Here is the list of most popular passwords, so it is best to divert away from these and be as unique as possible.
It’s also good for employees to hold different passwords for each of the different accounts they use, rather than only using one for everything. This can help to increase security.
To help further the strength of passwords, remote workers can also use one-time passwords to keep it random, harder to guess and ultimately safer to use.
On top of keeping strong passwords, for files that hold very sensitive data, a two-factor authentication is the way to go, meaning information is kept secure not only by a tough password, but also another means of verification – e.g. a phone number or email account. You can also data security that are generated for every session.
Promote the Importance of Data Security
While it may sound obvious, making sure all employees know just how important the security of sensitive company data and information is can also help to enhance security. This is the case particularly as many continue to work from home for extended periods of time, employees often known to perhaps be slightly more lapse when it comes to data security while working in the comfort of their own home.
It can help to establish a cybersecurity policy, making sure that employees know about various security protocols, and furthermore that they comply with them all. In order to do this, you may need to provide training and specific resources to help ensure employees understand and practice the relevant and applicable security measures, even while under remote working conditions.
Maintaining a Secure Internet Connection
With employees working from home, businesses will have less control as to where and how company documents are accessed. While this is unfortunately an inevitable part of remote working to help slow the spread of coronavirus, there are ways businesses and their employees can help to increase security when remote workers access company documents.
Businesses can make it a requirement for employees to use Virtual Private Networks (or VPNs for short). VPNs can help users to encrypt internet usage, and helps them to browse the internet, and thereby access certain company documents, with enhanced privacy and protection.
