While most people may be accustomed to working remotely, for those who are not, working from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic may make them susceptible to mistakes that could prove costly. It may be comfortable to work remotely, but this comes at the expense of putting sensitive company data at risk from the threat of cyberattacks. This is because hackers tend to take advantage of the relatively weak security cover on personal networks. 

Here are some tips that one can follow to avoid being a victim to cyberattacks while working from home:-

Understanding & Taking Measures

Employees at senior levels should work with security teams to identify likely cyberattacks that could prove to be a threat to the company when their employees are working from home. Business leaders should prioritize and protect their most sensitive information and critical applications during this time.

Furthermore, all employees should be clear on company policies on related matters. Employees must follow the guidelines provided by the organization to make working from home a more secure experience. Also, measures should be taken to ensure that employees can easily communicate with the organization’s security team as and when a legitimate doubt arises.

Updated Security & Devices

All equipment that the company provides to the employees must be updated with the latest security capabilities. The employees should follow up with all the best practices when it comes to network security.

Additionally, employees must be able to securely connect users to their business-critical cloud and the company’s applications. Moreover, the organization must provide endpoint protection on all laptops and mobile devices, which also includes VPN tools with encryption. They also must let employees enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Maintain A Strong Password

Employees often set a weak password to log in into company applications. This is because of the assumption that typing a complicated password will waste their time. Also, remembering a complex one may seem troublesome for many. But when working with the company’s sensitive information, keeping a dull/weak password means putting the safety of the organization into question. Instead, one must always use complex passwords, and also enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible.

Updating Systems

Not only is it the responsibility of an organization to provide updated systems to its employees, but the employee must also ensure that everything inside the laptop is updated regularly. Individuals working from home are susceptible to more cyberattacks, and to ensure complete safety, one must regularly install security updates. 

Securing WiFi Access Point

Not securing WiFi access points with a strong password exposes users’ networks to attacks from other devices. Changing the default settings and passwords to reduce potential cyberattacks while working remotely should be done without fail.

VPN 

VPN is used for the sole purpose of establishing a trusted connection between the employee and the organization. VPNs also ensure ongoing access to corporate tools. Corporate VPNs provide more protection compared to usual VPNs. These are especially effective against malware attacks and phishing.

Scams Related To COVID-19

Just as the virus has spread across the world, so have the scams related to it. There has been a rise in the number of phishing emails, malicious domains, fake UPI ids asking for donations, and fake apps. These attacks are tough to verify, and one needs to be aware of the different kinds of attacks to avoid being a victim of those.

Avoid pop-ups, unknown email links or any unknown communications. Also, never enter any unknown website related to COVID-19 with the company’s email id logged into the browser.