With several businesses having switched to remote workforces, it’s important to plan how you intend to go back to onsite working without damaging your digital assets or hindering efficiency.
Namely, your company in Oklahoma should be focused on how to safely transition your systems and data back to the office to avoid theft or loss. To ensure smooth and secure movement, consulting IT services in Oklahoma is advisable.
Because of the vulnerabilities posed by switching to remote work abruptly, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in the hiring of cybersecurity professionals. In fact, with 62% of businesses having transitioned to working from home, the open cybersecurity jobs rose from 261,545 to 348,082 between in April and June. This number will likely only grow as businesses start to make the switch back to onsite work and reconfigure their networks.
With that in mind, here is a guide to help your company advance its cybersecurity awareness and safely return to onsite work without risking a data breach:
1. Implement Basic Security Measures
Tools like firewalls, email protection, regular data backups, and anti-malware software may seem basic, but they are a great first step to protecting your networks. You’ll want to work with a reliable IT company to build you a unique cybersecurity system for your at-home remote workers, freelancers, and full-time employees to operate within.
2. Establish MFA for All Devices and Accounts
Another important step to securing your data is establishing MFA on all devices and accounts. MFA, or multi-factor authentication, is as process that involves securing systems with two pieces of unique information rather than just a password.
Combinations of information often include something you know (such as a password or security question), something you possess (such as a text sent to your mobile phone), and something you are genetically (such as a fingerprint or facial ID). MFA successfully blocks 99.9% of account hacking attempts, so it’s certainly something you won’t want to skip.
3. Train Your Staff on Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks
The number one weakness to any cybersecurity system is human error, in this case, caused by your employees. They need to be properly trained to spot and avoid phishing scams.
The most common signs of a phishing email involve offering free stuff such as coupons, requests for your personal information, or a fake message from your CEO. You should also be wary of the sender’s email address, if there are grammatical errors, or if there are any links or attachments. Warn your employees not to click on suspicious emails or any of the links within them.
4. Establish Advanced Cybersecurity Policies
Cybersecurity policies—such as how and where data can be used, which systems can be accessed by whom, and more—are critical to keeping your information secure. Have these policies in place for all company equipment that could be vulnerable. Never leave computers logged in.
The same standard must be kept for BOYD devices. Workers should not become comfortable with having customer data on their machines without adequate protection. Good WFH policies should be implemented to ensure your employees understand the proper ways to access data, whether through a VPN or the cloud.
As you plan your return to onsite work, the strategies in this guide will help you ensure your data is kept safe from theft or loss in the process. They can also help you leverage the efficiency of the new technology you’ve implemented while working remotely without sacrificing security.
