How to ensure cybersecurity while allowing remote working?
We are enjoying many perks of living in the era of the hyperconnected digital ecosystem. One such perk is remote working, commonly known as work from home. What emerged as a necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic has now become a new normal, even after the pandemic is evidently over.
Companies have embraced this new trend worldwide, allowing their employees to work from home forever. However, the rising popularity of enterprise mobility has given birth to a new set of problems, and cybersecurity is at the top of the list. The companies that have adapted to the changing trend have raised concerns about data monitoring and security.
Why does remote working pose a risk to cybersecurity?
Companies can control the digital environment only if all devices are connected to the same network having multiple restrictions. In remote working, organizations have to allow the usage of personal laptops and mobile devices. There are three popular approaches that companies adopt for remote working:
BYOD:
BYOD is an abbreviation of Bring Your Own Device. In this, the organization allows the usage of personal devices for work. Therefore, it demands minimum investment in the IT infrastructure from the organization’s end. However, it is the riskiest approach from the data security perspective.
COPE:
COPE stands for corporate-owned, personally enabled. The organization owns the devices but is lenient in letting employees use them for personal activities.
CYOD:
Choose Your Own Device is the costliest and the least popular approach out of all. CYOD allows employees to use only company-approved devices for work. Organizations avoid CYOD. However, it is the best way to protect the organization’s digital ecosystem.
Remote working has its own set of benefits. For example, the attrition rate of companies offering work from home is 25% lower than the stringent companies. Most employees feel that they can strike a better work-life balance while working from home.
However, remote working has its own pitfalls. It makes data monitoring difficult for the companies as they lose control over the remote devices. In addition to that, it opens multiple gateways for malware and ransomware to enter the company’s digital ecosystem.
Here are some of the significant cyber security risks
Personal networks
WFH employees generally use the home network for the internet connection. These personal networks are unsecured. It is observed that employees generally update their devices and antivirus software, but they forget to update their home router software, making the network riskier.
Companies generally use firewalls for monitoring and prevention of malicious activities. However, home routers are hardly protected by firewalls, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Extensive use of online tools
Our lives are woven around the hyperconnected digital ecosystem. For example, we use our laptops to read news, work, watch movies and even connect with the clients through apps like Zoom or Skype. In addition, many activities like cloud storage, emails, attachments, messages, and third-party services are being carried out from the same device. This opens up avenues for the data breach.
Lack of awareness
Not all employees are aware of the security protocols. Most workers are too occupied with their day-to-day tasks that they do not find time and energy to ensure cybersecurity.
Their lack of knowledge or carelessness can give the cybercriminals a much-awaited opportunity to break into the system. Therefore, companies must introduce their employees to cybersecurity tools. If required, they should hold awareness seminars to help employees understand the importance of cybersecurity and the impact of their actions on the company’s IT environment.
Weak passwords
Too many passwords to remember! Employees are generally lazy to set a strong password. What is more, they set passwords used for several other accounts. Passwords are the first weak link to break into a company’s tight security infrastructure. Cybercriminals use password generators and coding bots to crack accounts, and weak passwords often make the entire exercise so easy for them.
Phishing and ransomware
Remote workers are more prone to phishing and ransomware attacks. Cybercriminals scam users into sharing sensitive information or downloading malware onto their devices. Post pandemic, a massive spike of 600% is observed in phishing emails.
Unencrypted file sharing
The files saved on the company’s network are generally encrypted. However, it might not be possible for the company to do the same for the files saved on employees’ personal devices. This is because cyber criminals intercept such unencrypted files and break into the system.
How to ensure cybersecurity?
Microsoft conducted an interesting study that revealed that 67% of employees use personal devices in the workplace. Unfortunately, most companies do not have policies for using personal devices in the workplace or for work.
Cybercriminals often break into the system through unknown wi-fi networks.
Unknown wi-fi networks, inadequate security protocols and third-party apps are accessible gateways for launching a cyberattack.
Especially if the organization has adopted the BYOD approach, it becomes even more challenging to mitigate the risk. In BYOD, most data is transferred through cloud computing platforms and mobile devices, making securing the IT environment more challenging.
The organization can optimize the cybersecurity of BYOD through below-mentioned options:
- Device authentication
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Device virtualization
- Data-at-rest encryption
- Secure boot
At some workplaces, to ensure safety, IT admins create an extensively controlled environment that even limits the employee’s ability to copy, paste, print or forward data. This can strangle the free flow of data exchange between the employees and adversely impact employee performance.
The solution
So, a robust cybersecurity tool emerges as the best possible solution in such a situation. In addition, the company should consider investing in a next-gen cyber platform. This investment can save the company a lot of costs spent after repairing the damage done due to the cyberattack.
