It’s important that employees understand the security threats associated with working on the go. Shared WiFi in coffee shops, for example, can be accessed by anyone, so it’s essential for employees to only access company documents through the VPN to maintain security. In addition, it can be easy for workers to physically expose information to others, by stepping away from their laptop to get a coffee, or simply sitting in front of someone on a train. If your workforce typically travel for business, IT decision makers should consider simple fixes at the least, such as privacy screens for devices.
Organisations should also understand that people aren’t perfect – losing a company phone or leaving a laptop on the train is certainly not uncommon. With that in mind, precautions are a good idea. Consider introducing Bitlocker before a user can access the operating system, encrypted hard disks and the capability to send a signal to mobile device and wipe it to prevent someone accessing company information.
Organisations across the globe have had to introduce remote and hybrid working quicker than they’d anticipated. As a result, IT teams have had to work incredibly hard simply to make sure that the business could keep running remotely. Now that the dust is settling, security should be a top focus. With so many new potential security threat sources in a distributed workspace, all organisations would benefit from reviewing security protocols and policies. In particular, with so much change impacting employees’ work life, it’s important to understand that they may not be aware of how that should impact security practices or understand how their own behaviour needs to change. With the knowledge in place, along with rigorous employee training, your organisation can get the most of hybrid working without putting your security at risk.