How Companies Can Invest In Security To Help Protect Their Remote Working Team Members
Remote working has become a favourable way for companies to operate.
Most modern businesses have chosen to adopt this workstyle, with fifty of the biggest employers in the UK revealing they have no plans for all of their employees to return full-time to the office.
As this trend of working from home continues, more companies are looking for ways to help ensure they can improve security for their team members working remotely. Of course, the lack of office space means they cannot keep work equipment in one location, so team members can easily access valuable data and files from the comfort of their homes.
Circumstances such as these leave business leaders wondering how they can protect their remote working team members. Keep reading to discover how investing in security will help them achieve this goal.
Choose A Robust Security Software
Most business leaders will have a debate on whether or not to invest in technology with themselves and their teams. Weighing up the pros and cons, the costs involved, and what it could achieve are all factors that must be considered before investing. Some of the technology considered could be automated services to help increase efficiency and improve employee satisfaction. Another worth considering is security software, especially for employees that work remotely.
Investing in robust security software for remote workers can add a level of protection to your company. For instance, you could invest in advanced security with TSplus, helping you minimise the risk of hackers and the access employees have to valuable data and information. This creates a safety net for your business, enabling you and your team to continue working knowing the company is protected.
Work Devices And Personal Devices
Creating clear boundaries is crucial when operating a remote business. Team members might have built themselves an office at home, a place separate from the rest of their house, often in a spare room that they only use for work. This separation helps them relax after finishing work, as it creates that separation between work and home life. This same approach should be applied to equipment.
As employees work from home, you want to ensure they have the right equipment to complete the work. You also have more control over the work equipment than personal devices. Personal devices might be compromised, and you might not know. If employees check sensitive work information on personal devices, they risk being exposed, which can have costly consequences for the business.
Regularly Conduct Updates
Seeing the notification for updates available can leave some feeling irritated. When these updates occur, you never know how long they will take. Some might be over within a few minutes, whilst others can take longer. However, these updates need to be done to help ensure that all software and programmes team members use are the latest addition. Using outdated software versions can put team members at risk of a cyber-attack, as the systems are no longer as robust as the latest versions.
Start by ensuring that each team member working remotely uses updated software and programmes. This will mean you have to invest significant time to ensure all updates are completed, but it will be worthwhile when the risk of threats is reduced. Another thing worth updating is passwords and pin codes. If team members are unable to remember the last time they updated their password, then it is time that these are changed as a matter of urgency.
Security Training Sessions
Of course, a company can invest in security software and anti-virus protection for all devices. These tools can help to create that safety net for the company, one that helps to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. However, another way to invest in security is by offering training sessions to employees. You can appoint a member of your IT team to lead a security training session, or you can reach out to external support to create a training session for your company.
Hosting a training session for team members ensures that everyone is on the same page about security in the business. It can help them to identify potential phishing emails, keep themselves protected whilst working from home and help to ensure that everyone knows what steps to take should they suspect a potential security threat. Like with conducting regular updates, security training sessions can take time, but the protection it creates is worthwhile.
In Summary
Finding and investing in security to help protect remote working team members should be a top priority for business leaders. Recent reports revealed in the past 12 months, 39% of businesses in the UK had identified a cyber-attack. As technology advances, how cybercriminals approach targets becomes more innovative and difficult to spot. As such, business leaders need to ensure they have implemented enough measures to help avoid an attack on their company. In doing so, they can rest assured that their remote working team members are protected.
