Keep your remote employees secure
We are all affected by the COVID-19 situation. It is very important to remember when employees start working remotely to not only educate them but also to equip them with the proper tools to ensure better security. As more and more people work from home we are seeing more breaches and disruptions as individuals get used to the new way of working.
Beware of hackers!
Malicious Corona-virus online maps are appearing. While you look at the nice graphics the site is infecting your computer.
Be careful of e-mails from internal support. I even got one claiming to be from, wait for it, myself advising me to visit a site to have my PC scanned because apparently the other me detected a virus. Some of the old social engineering tricks will catch newly minted mobile workers off guard if their entire experience has been one behind corporate firewalls.
It is critical that you minimize potential issues by getting your entire environment as safe and stable as possible.
Understand your costs!
Make sure remote users are not accidentally using LTE/4G connections on their phones or you may discover very large charges for data usage. Some providers are removing data caps and charges, but it’s not as fast as your home Internet connection in the majority of cases. Also try using wired connects if your home WiFi is older/slow.
What should you do?
- Use a Virtual Provide Network (VPN)
- Run a commercial grade anti-virus and anti-malware software on EVERY mobile user’s PCs and laptops.
- If mobile users are using older PCs running anything older than Windows 10, consider upgrading them ASAP or providing a replacement laptop.
- Make sure everyone has all the Windows 10 updates installed as well as the software (Office365, Adobe products and so forth)
- Enforce two-factor authentication whenever possible.
- Create documentation and educate your IT team on how assist remote users.
- Provide all remote users with phone numbers to call or text if they can’t connect.
Some people are not great with change. This means some of your mobile users will be worried and uncomfortable working remotely. Keep this in mind when you deploy your solutions. In some cases we’ve had to relax the security aspect temporarily for an individual or two just long enough for them to feel at ease with the new way to do things. At the end of the day, we must all adapt and do our best to carry on until things go back to normal.
Stay safe!