How To Protect Your Remote Workforce During This Pandemic

Running a business during a global pandemic is no small feat. There are many concerns that you have likely already run into and will continue to experience, such as having to move quickly to remote working without halting productivity.

One of the major issues businesses have already faced in their switch to remote work is cybersecurity, as now is a time when hackers are looking to take advantage of the fact that many businesses may not have had time to sufficiently protect their new remote networks.

If you are worried there is a chance your business’ systems might not be set up securely for remote work, take a look at the following tips on how to protect your remote workforce at this time.

Use A Secure Internet Connection

To keep your data safe while your employees are accessing it remotely, you need to make sure employees are always using a secure Internet connection.

Some of the ways you can ensure your Internet connection is secure is by adding a stronger password, limiting the range of your signal, enabling network encryption, and upgrading your router’s firmware. Your employees should never work using a public WiFi connection, as it is never as secure as a personal connection, and data can be easily accessed through these networks.

Set Up A VPN

If your business has in-house servers that you still need to access for data retrieval, you should set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN works by masking your IP addresses and rerouting your connection through various nodes, thereby masking the location of the data that you are accessing. This is hugely important in keeping your data secure from hackers if your business normally stores data on in-house servers.

Use VoIP

Telecommunication is a highly valuable resource for businesses who still need to communicate with their team and customers but need a more secure setup than simply using personal phones.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems help keep your calls private while also giving you access to a range of features such as video conferencing, instant messaging, call metrics, and more. They allow you to collaborate effectively with your team without using several different applications, but they also have the flexibility to function on a wide range of devices. They are also much more cost-effective than traditional PBX phones, which can be a huge benefit for businesses right now while the economy is suffering.

Implement Safe Data Access Policies

A big risk with remote working is that you are entrusting work data to be in the homes of your employees. Even if you fully trust your employees and they are working through a VPN connection, you have no idea who might have access to their home networks and computers.

For that reason, it’s important to have strict data policies in place, including when and how data can be accessed, where it can be stored, and whether they are allowed to use personal devices. If employees are using their own devices, make sure you have a secure BYOD policy in order to protect company data and hold employees accountable for their use of that data.

Encrypt Sensitive Data

While file encryption should have already been implemented before the pandemic, it is especially important with the current surge in remote working. You should always make sure that you are encrypting any sensitive data to prevent threat actors from being able to view it, should they hack your systems.

Encryption also ensures that only approved users can access certain data files, as it implements security measures such as password protections and multifactor authentication before someone can view or use a file.

Partner with a Professional

The main thing you should make sure you are doing to protect your remote workforce during this pandemic is to work with a reliable IT services company who will help you to implement unique security policies and procedures for remote working. They will also be able to implement the solutions mentioned above, such as VoIP, VPN, cloud solutions, and much more.

By following these tips, you can ensure your company is prepared not only for the threats that have resulted from the current pandemic but also from future threats.