For years it was common for employees to check in on work from home by logging into their email occasionally on the weekend or attend meetings via videoconference if they had to stay home to care for a sick child. Now, remote work is pervasive. Many companies are choosing to let their employees work remote into 2021. And Human Resource Executive reports that when the world moves to a “post-pandemic” state, the vast majority of company leaders plan to allow employees to continue to work remotely at least part of the time.
With remote work as a norm for the foreseeable future, the work-from-home crowd is a prime business opportunity for cyber criminals. Employees who work remotely are connecting to their employer’s networks from their home networks, which are more vulnerable than an office network that’s protected by sophisticated hardware, software and network infrastructure. Your employees home networks may also be connected to smart-refrigerators, kids’ video game systems and smart TVs that access the internet.
“Companies that want to protect themselves from ransomware, malware, data breaches and phishing attacks need to extend their network security protocols into the remote environment”, said Doug Goodall, managing director of Emtec Inc., a Jacksonville-based information technology consulting firm.
A mitigation plan should consider that not all employees are the same in terms of access requirements or security. For example, a human resources professional would need access to employee records but wouldn’t need access to an entire sales database that resides in the cloud.
“Cyber criminals will be targeting remote workforces. We advise companies to not take anything for granted. They should identify what their new cyber risks are and take steps to mitigate them.”
Security experts at Emtec recommend three critical actions companies can take so employees can work safely and effectively off-site for the long-term.
