More businesses than ever are choosing to have their employees work from home instead of going into the office due to the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. While working from home has its benefits like not having to waste time and gas commuting, you can have downsides as well like decreased security. Take these steps in mind to secure your business when choosing to work from home.
Virtual Machines
Allowing employees to use their computers at home means that they might be introducing viruses to the entire work infrastructure if a file gets uploaded to the wrong place. Virtual machines are essentially computers hosted on a network somewhere else which someone can use on their own computer or other devices. These machines are beneficial for security as businesses can set all types of restrictions like letting files only be opened when sent through an internal email address or not let any outside files be opened at all. By having skilled IT staff, you should be able to create as many virtual machines that you need to ensure that your business is safe from hackers.
Virtual Private Network
Depending on the security of your network, you may not need virtual machines in the first place as file uploads could be disabled. However, hackers have found various ways to get into work networks like sniffing the web packets to find out potential passwords. Utilizing a virtual private network, otherwise known as a VPN, ensures that hackers can’t get important passwords that could leak or delete important information businesses need. Contact your IT team and ask if adopting a virtual private network would be the best for your business.
Cloud Software
Depending on the type of work, employees might have to share files back and forth to get work done. For businesses that aren’t interested in using virtual machines, they can use cloud software which allows employees to do the work they need from their own computer while having every important file uploaded to a network that can’t be changed from outsiders. Cloud versions of popular software like Microsoft Office have been available for years so employees don’t need to even change the exact software they are already used to. Look into how you can implement cloud software into your business to make it more easier and secure for your employees.
Two-Factor Authentication
Chances are you’re going to get a password leak at some point in time no matter what you do to avoid it. To ensure that a hacker still can’t get into your business, think about adopting multi-factor authentication into your login process. This process ensures that employees not only need their password to login to work but a separate device like their phone that generates a second temporary password that hackers couldn’t get before it even expired. Millions all around the world already trust two-factor authentication methods for their personal accounts which is why businesses should consider adopting this same procedure.
Wi-Fi Encryption
Depending on the severity of the pandemic near you, you may have no workers currently in office. Encrypting your wi-fi network can be crucial in keeping your network safe as a willing hacker could park near your workplace and spend hours cracking your password before gaining full access to your business. This can be done by selecting through different encryption standards and changing your password regularly to one that hackers can’t brute force quickly. If hackers seem to be more willing to get into your business, ensure that you have your IT team change the password regularly so that hackers always need to start over again to deal with your encryption. Following this advice on wi-fi encryption should ensure that you don’t have any intrusions on your internal network that could temporarily or permanently change the fate of your business.
