We have almost hit the eight-month mark of working from home. The pandemic forced everyone to adjust to Work From Home (WFH) and leave behind the conventional secure environment of work. In this digital work era, it is essential to practice the best cybersecurity policies to maintain an organization’s remote network and employee security.
Even if the pandemic was something that no one saw coming, practicing safe online culture is crucial. These methods support your business’s continuous functioning and operations. Frequent reinforcement of cybersecurity gives a cutting edge to the security system. Most importantly, security is important for enabling your company to achieve its business objectives.
Why Does Your Company Need Cybersecurity?
Research shows that over the past few months, there has been a significant rise in the attacks involving laptops, mobile devices, web browsers, home networking sites, cloud-based apps, and other tools that facilitate WFH. These attacks can be minimised by using a connection with a vpn.
Further, to add to this list, a phishing and socially engineered attack continues to be the preferred technique for attackers to access corporate systems. Once the initial process is taken over, the attackers mostly infiltrate the corporate network and compromise the organization’s cybersecurity.
In such cases, you’ll need quick IT support equipped with protecting the security of your extended network.
Best Practices for Your Employees
Even during these unprecedented times, the IT infrastructure and network system of your organization should never be compromised. Businesses are already experiencing setbacks and struggling to cope with the several challenges. The last thing anyone needs is a vulnerable network.
1. Protection with VPN
VPN or Virtual Private Network provides your employees with additional security and privacy when online. Regardless of the device that one uses, VPN secures the network when accessing the internet. A VPN shields your Internet Protocol (IP) address by creating a channel through the public internet. Some of the common VPN benefits are:
- It conceals browsing history.
- It shields your physical location by showing a made-up IP address.
- It also reduces the risk of identity theft because you’re using a private network.
There are some IT solutions and computer systems that you may need to utilize remotely through VPN, but host on-site. This includes ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning, CRM or Customer Relationship Management, document management, and file storage.
2. Practicing Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication plays a crucial role in eliminating security breaches due to lost or stolen data or weak passwords. Today, mostly all apps related to e-banking, commercial apps, and corporate log-ins are adopting this multi-factor authentication to prevent data breaches.
An example of multi-factor authentication would be when you type your password, and there is a second prompt to confirm another piece of information like OTP, phone number, or email address. In multi-factor authentication, one verifies and confirms their identity in at least one additional way other than a password.
Using this extra security measure can help your company secure sensitive data, especially now when most employees are working remotely on a potentially unprotected network.
3. Next-Level Password Protection
How many times do we disregard password suggestions and randomly set up a password without a second thought? While password protection is a simple task, it is more crucial than we give it credit. Password policies should involve strict, reinforced practice to ensure that the company’s network security is not compromised. Some of these methods should involve doing the following:
- You must change all passwords at least once every 90 days.
- User accounts with system-level privileges should have a unique password distinguished from all other accounts held by the user.
- All passwords should have at least eight characters in length and be a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols.
- All passwords should be different from the previous six characters and not contain the user’s user ID.
4. Being Vigilant of Fake Websites and Email Scams
The pandemic has become a prime time for hackers and attackers to take advantage of the unsafe network that a company is using. Hence, it becomes your responsibility to protect your network in more ways than one. Be vigilant of the emails and websites that mask the danger but are potential threats to your system. Stay away from unfamiliar emails and inform your IT support team about such emails.
IT Solutions for Best Security Practices
Mustard IT is a London IT company that provides unmatched technical support to companies as and when needed. From secure cloud-based service to efficient remote work practices that provide a safe network, this London-based company covers all your tech-requirements.
Mustard IT is an efficient IT solution provider that ensures your team works productively on a secure network. It also guarantees that your employees have the perfect balance of security and tech support. Mustard IT has solutions that fit every budget and company.
