How to Do Remote Work Securely In the Age of COVID-19?

In this new world, we are forced to change how we live and do business at every level. Remote work is now the new norm, which opens the door to an avalanche of security risks. In this article, you will learn how to do remote work securely during a pandemic. 

In this article, we’ll cover the risks and shortfalls of many businesses to keep their networks secure, how to quickly step up security for your network, and what we can expect for the cybersecurity world for the foreseeable future.

Remote Workers Aren’t Given Secure Tools to Do their Jobs.

Though the amount of remote workers has skyrocketed in the past few months, the tools to keep their connections secure aren’t being deployed at the rate it needs to be. Most companies have failed to inspect their network for breach threats or properly authenticate their workers.

According to research conducted by Cato Networks, of the companies they surveyed:

• 68% of companies haven’t deployed proper authentication tech for their workers.
• 37% don’t provide multi-factor authentication tools for their remote workers.
• 55% don’t have intrusion prevention or anti-malware on their networks.
• 11% don’t inspect network traffic at all.

How Can We Do Remote Work Securely?

For starters, businesses will undoubtedly need to step up IT security across the board to secure their workers’ remote connections to the network. Security teams will also need to do risk assessments and security exercises to identify and patch their security gaps.

From the workers’ side, they need to, at the bare minimum, install a VPN on their work devices to secure their connections to your network. Set up a corporate account for your workers to use and install that VPN service on all of these computers, and instruct your workers to use the VPN every time they connect to your network

What Will Be The Pandemic’s Long Term Impact on Cybersecurity?

The situation surrounding the pandemic will force innovations and speed up the deprecation of older security technologies, and cybersecurity will periodically fall behind. To make up for this temporary vulnerability, many businesses will need cyber insurance to mitigate their losses from a breach.

This pandemic creates a “kid in a candy store” moment for cybercriminals. Because of the inherent security holes in remote connections, hackers can enter through any number of weak links (like a router, a poorly secured WiFi connection, etc.)

Upgrading your IT security is even more critical now than ever. If you want your business to survive the many breach attempts that will surely be leveled against it, you need to secure every piece of your network including the connections from your remote workers. Intelligent Technical Solutions can help you and your business enhance your cybersecurity. Contact us today!