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Ensuring Cyber Security For Your Remote Workforce: It’s Time To Take Action

We’ve discussed how to have a successful onboarding process for remote workers, what you should ask yourself before considering remote work for your employees, and how to manage your remote team more effectively. Now, it’s time to take a deep dive into how you can ensure a secure cyber environment for this class of workers.

A report showed that 20% of organizations experienced a security breach in their system because of a remote worker. A security breach is any incident that results in unauthorized access to computer data, applications, networks, or devices. In addition, it was revealed that the average data breach cost increased by over $1 million whenever remote work was a factor. The importance of having the proper software to protect your employees from a breach is critical. Cyber attackers are becoming smarter and smarter, and as an employer, you must stay up to speed with technological advancements, especially among your virtual workers.

Secure Your Employees’ Remote Work Environment

You must take additional precautions to ensure a secure work environment when you have remote employees. With nearly one-half to two-thirds of U.S. employees working at least part of their time remotely, what will you do as an employer to help these employees protect at-home networks? Consider the following tips:

  • Install security software: This is a perfect starting point if this hasn’t been implemented from the beginning. This software prevents malware, viruses, phishing attempts, and other potential threats.
  • Connect to a virtual private network (VPN): A VPN allows remote employees to become an extension of the network as if they’re in the office with the same security and connectivity benefits.
  • Use a router that’s up to date: The longer a router ages, the more likely it is to be compromised by cyber hackers who are ready to steal and monetize your data.
  • Enable encryption: Data encryption is a computing process that encodes plaintext/cleartext into ciphertext accessible only by authorized users with the right cryptographic key. It adds a layer of protection for businesses and remote workers.
  • Adhere to a strong password policy: Long and complex passwords offer a valuable method of protecting computing resources. If you have easily guessed passwords, they’re more likely to get attacked. Strong passwords protect your accounts and devices from unauthorized access, keeping your employees’ sensitive personal information as safe as possible. A strong password is hard to guess, but it should be easy to remember. Consider utilizing the following characteristics of a strong password:
    • At least 12 characters 
    • A mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters 
    • Use letters and numbers
    • Include at least one unique character 
  • Train your employees: To minimize the risk of a cyber-attack, your first line of defense is implementing employee training. Utilizing a learning management system (LMS) to implement training courses periodically or have company-wide training is a critical step in creating a secure cyber environment. 
  • Use multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA is an authentication method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource such as an application, online account, or a VPN. It ultimately enhances your organization’s security by requiring users to identify themselves with more than a username or password.

Brett Kowalski, GMS’ IT Director, expresses, “Enhancing your company’s cyber security is extremely important in today’s business environment. With many employees working remotely, it’s essential that companies ensure that remote workers have secure methods to access their company’s data. Using multi-factor authentication and other security login protocols is crucial. When employees connect from all over the world, having a secure login process can help prevent the potential of a cyber-attack.”

GMS Can Protect Your Business

As remote work continues to dominate the workforce, new cyber risks have emerged. As a business owner, it’s time to think outside the box and consider utilizing a professional employer organization (PEO) such as GMS. When you partner with GMS, we can help develop and implement policies and procedures that address remote work and cyber security. This can include guidelines for using personal devices, correctly accessing company data, and reporting security incidents. In addition, we can provide cyber security training to employees to help them identify and prevent cyber threats such as phishing, scams, malware, and social engineering attacks using our LMS. Interested in learning more about how GMS can protect your business and employees? Get a quote now.