The pandemic has forced employees to work from home since the COVID-19 outbreak. In fact, this setup has become the new normal for most businesses across the globe.
Not only do companies worry about the novel coronavirus, but they are also wary of cybersecurity. As employees work remotely, they might be vulnerable to cyberattacks such as malware, phishing, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and SQL injection. It’s safe to say that you must not only care about the coronavirus but the computer virus as well.
If you have some employees working from home during this pandemic, here’s how to secure your business:
1. Protect your employees’ emails
Did you know that emails are the weakest point of digital entry? That’s according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. If your employees take their business emails for granted, they can become victims of scams such as phishing. As such, they can put your employees’ information and your business at risk. Take the initiative to encourage your employees to protect their emails at all times.
There are some practical tips for email protection. First, use software to scan emails for dangerous links and viruses. Furthermore, orient your employees about keeping their emails secure. Set guidelines on opening suspicious emails, downloading attachments, and clicking links. Once you set the guidelines, educate your employees about email scams such as phishing and encourage them to keep their emails clean and organized.
2. Ensure a robust password protection
Passwords are vital in any given business. Through passwords, only authorized employees have access to your business systems and information. But if your employees aren’t careful with creating and maintaining passwords, such access can get into the wrong hands. Online hackers, scammers, and other digital crooks will take advantage of your business information.
Therefore, you should have a strong password creation that includes numbers, letters, and special characters. Avoid passwords related to your employees’ personal details and be sure to use two-factor authentication. Moreover, you should encourage your employees to change their passwords regularly and set a password management system in place.
3. Keep employees’ devices updated and protected
Checking your employees’ devices can be quite challenging during this pandemic. As such, your IT team must double their efforts in ensuring employees that they can work from home properly. They must install the proper software and hardware, monitor the network and systems, and troubleshoot devices when necessary.
To keep their devices updated and protected, install and update anti-virus and anti-malware apps or software. Update all software and hardware with the latest, patched versions and use programs that detect and stop potential security threats. For data accessibility, set cloud backup and disaster recovery in place.
4. Secure your server
A server plays a crucial role in any given business, but it is all the more important during this pandemic. As your employees work from home, you must ensure your business has a robust server. That way, they can work conveniently at home and keep your business operational. You don’t want them to use public computers and Wi-Fi connections that will compromise your business.
To secure your server, it’s best to hire managed services for SQL Server. They can troubleshoot your server and employee systems. Also, they can take charge of the 24/7 remote monitoring, analytics, reporting, remediation service, design, development, deployment, implementation, and optimization. In addition, they can provide cloud-based data backup and recovery.
5. Have a solid IT support team
To keep your business up and running in the work-from-home setup, you must have a solid IT support team. This team of IT professionals ensures continuous business operations, even in the midst of the pandemic. They will visit your employees’ houses, set up their devices, and install both software and hardware. They will regularly monitor your business’ network, your employees’ systems, and troubleshoot when necessary.
When it comes to this, you have the option to hire an online security company. If you don’t have designated IT personnel, work with a reliable security company. They will take care of everything, from deployment to regular monitoring and troubleshooting to system maintenance.
If you already have an IT support team working in-house, allow them to work from home as well. But this time, they must always be proactive. Their goal is to ensure your employees are successfully working from home. Ultimately, they must keep your business up and running.
The work-from-home setup has posed new challenges such as cybersecurity threats and attacks. To secure your business, protect your employees’ emails, have robust password protection, keep their devices updated, secure your server, and have a solid IT support team. With all these in place, you’ll keep your business protected at all times.
