COVID-19: Working From Home? 8 Steps to Stay Secure
With the advent of COVID-19, we are now faced with challenges, we as a collective, have never faced before. We’re living through history in the making! While many organisations and individuals are showing fantastic solidarity by enforcing safety measures such as social-distancing and remote-working. There are those among us who view these times as an opportunity to exploit and steal from the vulnerable. While bunkered up and working from home, on top of staying productive, we must also remember to stay safe!
Working from home comes with a broad range of new vulnerabilities and security considerations; most of which can be left unaddressed in conventional company policy. Hackers are increasingly focusing their efforts on remote workers, labelling and treating the individual worker as an easy target. Especially now that the employees are no longer protected by the corporate security infrastructure, they have been found to be even more vulnerable alone.
As a cybersecurity provider, we’re doing our part by developing a work-from-home security awareness course for organisations looking to protect their staff and company, especially while working remotely.
Our Security Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) Portal was initially a product targeted to enterprises. Due to the current circumstances, we’re now extending this solution to everyone who is working from home and for organizations looking to protect their staff and company during this trying time.
We’re providing 30 days FREE all access with no limits to our portal! That’s right! No strings attached, full-featured with access to the entire platform! Click the link below to sign up and get 1-month complete access for free:
We strongly recommend the above course to anyone looking to foster a safe at-home working environment. For now, here are a few tips to keep you cyber-safe in these shaky times:
1)Always Work on a Secure Corporate VPN Connection
The first thing to consider when working from home is that you’ll be immediately working from a separate network from the office. While your home network is likely safe for conventional home usage, it’s rare that you’ll have the same level of security as in the office. This is where using a VPN connection is essential.
In short, a VPN creates a secure “tunnel” between your home and your office. This way, rather than sending sensitive documents and information across potentially insecure networks, your office work can be done with a direct, safe connection to the office.
You need to ensure you have a secure VPN connection given to you by your organization which will allow you to work safely by accessing your corporate structure in a safe manner. Bare in mind on some of the free VPN / private browsing solutions available free on the internet, as it may not be as private as it claims to be after all! We recommend contacting your employer or an I.T. professional for assistance in setting up a home VPN to your office.
2) Don’t Drift Away from Office Messaging Systems
When working from home, it can be easy to lose access to messaging platforms such as Slack, Workplace, etc. As such, workers often turn to personal email accounts or social media but by doing so, they, unfortunately, expose their business operations and secure data to a higher risk of compromise.
Avoid using personal messaging platforms, even if the work is urgent. It’s imperative to keep in mind that in the event that your Facebook, Gmail or other personal account is hacked, you could be held personally accountable for the loss of corporate data and confidential messages.
3) Make Sure Your Home WiFi is Secure and Encrypted
Let’s be honest, your home WiFi is probably nowhere near as safe as your office WiFi. If there’s one lesson to take away from your remote-working experience, it’s that your home-safety is just as important as your office safety.
Regardless of whether you’re bunkered in for the long-run, we recommend taking these home WiFi safety steps:
· Changing your router SSID
· Update your WiFi Username and Password
· Use a short-range router or a router that only reaches as far as your front-door (rather than broadcasting all the way down the street)
· Updating your router’s firmware on a regular basis in order to keep up with security updates
If you are unsure as to how to perform the above steps, a quick call to your ISP can get you on the right track!
4) Update Your Software
One of the most common forms of cyber-attacks is the simple exploitation of un-updated software. When working from home, you likely fall under the same umbrella as the rest of us; snoozing update reminders and leaving outdated apps on your devices.
The problem here is that many updates exist solely to patch up vulnerabilities and keep you safe. Remove apps that you no longer have a use for, update your operating systems, and make time on the same day to follow-up on update reminders.
When you do get back into the office, it’s best-practice to take this “update philosophy” with you for your workplace devices as well.
5) Set Boundaries For Your Home Computer and Devices
This one is a tough nut to crack. If you have kids or a partner at home, you’re probably used to sharing the same devices. However, keep in mind that the family computer is now serving as your workstation too.
This means that the sensitive and confidential data you access is open to your entire household's security practices. Every time a member of the house-hold downloads a videogame, logs into their social media or accesses an unsafe website, your data is at risk!
A good rule-of-thumb to run by is “Would I let this happen on my office computer?” If the answer is no, then set boundaries and rules for the household devices in order to prevent it from happening. Consider separate users at the least, if not separate devices entirely.
6) Use Two-Factor Authentication
In 2020, two-factor logins should be the modern standard on all logins.
Especially for any critical accounts such as your email and company data, always make sure that you and your employer have arranged for two-factor authentication to be enabled.
This way, if your password is compromised while working at home, you’ll always have the two-factor verification via your phone or other access methods to fall back on and prevent a breach.
Check out this site that helps you check if your favourite sites support 2FA:
Looking for an application that enables 2FA on your favourite sites?
7) Refrain From Using Personal Removable Media
Whenever you’re exchanging files between your workplace and home with removable media, it should be done via a secure and approved USB drive/device.
Refrain from using the common house-hold USB that’s lying around, as not only does it open you up to the possibility of sensitive data entering unsecured systems (such as family computers or public devices), but it also opens you up to lower security standards of the device in general.
Only use approved removable media, even at home.
8) Be Extra-Vigilant of Phishing Emails
Phishing emails are scams delivered via email. Being scams, they’re often designed to play on insecurities or concerns in order to illegitimately garner, or rather, steal your personal data. This can range from general information about yourself and the business to payment information and critical records.
During this time, whether or not you are working remotely, we can all expect to see a huge increase of scam emails using the COVID-19 situation as the basis for their false narratives. While these emails are designed to be deceptive, there are usually some red flags that give them away immediately.
A few red flags you can keep an eye on are:
· A suspicious or immediate call to action
· A suspicious link in the email
· An email that doesn’t match the company or name of the sender
· An unexpected or unusual email claiming to be a colleague
· Bad grammar or typos
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public:
Keep cyber-safe and hygiene-safe. As a security awareness provider, we value your cyber-safety with the utmost consideration and care. But just as important is your personal safety and wellbeing.
We recommend that for the safety of yourself, your family, your household and the public at large to consider the below COVID-19 safety advice via the World Health Organisation website:
Not many of us can say that they’ve personally experienced a global pandemic. It’s a new time for all of us, with challenges that we’re all having the first-hand experience with. By staying safe, considerate of hygiene, and aware of the risks we face both tangibly and in online spaces; we’re confident that we all have the capacity to safely pull through these times, and come out the other end with some new-found lessons on personal safety.
We’re eager to help and play our role as your trusted cybersecurity advisor. In doing so, we would like to extend our Security Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) Portal, to offer you our courses on topics that fit these trying circumstances. We’re providing all-access for FREE, for you and your team. Whether you’re a one-man team or a ten thousand man team, you’re eligible for this exclusive offer.
Lets spread cyber awareness & be the vaccine! Get started by visiting our webpage, please enrol via the following link:
