How to Keep Remote Employees Safe
Jul 08, 2022
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The world has changed drastically ever since the Covid-19 pandemic dissolved the world into chaos. Between all the masks, social distancing, and lockdowns, our modern society evolved quickly and has become an entirely new ecosystem that is almost unrecognizable.
Among one of those evolutions was the way that the average 9-5 working environment changed. Rather than having to go into an office to work, employees are able to work from home, or in fact, remotely from anywhere in the world. This has sparked an entirely new business model with hybrid and remote working environments becoming incredibly popular.
Remote working has been a blessing to many employees who can now avoid traveling long distances and spending hours away from their families. As great as remote working has been though, it also comes at a cost. Cybercrime is rife at the moment, and it’s only getting worse as the years go on. You need to make sure that you use the top cybersecurity measures for remote workers or else your entire business could be put in jeopardy. Keep reading to find out why cybercrime is on the rise and what you can do to ensure that your employees and your business remain safe and secure at all times.
Why Cybercrime is on the Rise
In recent years we have seen a massive spike in the frequency of cybercrime. Cyberattacks have become more successful, and ultimately we’re facing much more danger in the form of cybercrime than ever before. There are two main reasons for this sudden rise in cybercrime over the past few years.
The first reason is that there are billions of devices all around the world. Take a minute to think about how many households do not have any form of the device — whether that’s a smartphone, a laptop, or even a tablet. Thousands of devices are sold daily, and many people who buy devices are first time owners who are often unaware of the dangers that they might face from cybercrime. These users are more at risk of falling victim to dangerous cyberattacks while using their devices.
The second reason why there has been a sudden rise in cybercrime is a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As soon as the world went into lockdown we saw a significant increase in successful cyber attacks all around the world.
The reason for this is simply because there was such a massive increase in the amount of screen time amongst device owners all around the world. With citizens confined to their homes, many had to use their devices to entertain themselves, keep in touch with family and friends, or even work remotely from their homes.
Ultimately it’s this increase in screen time caused by both of the above reasons that give cybercriminals more opportunity than ever before to find new victims to launch their devastating attacks on. When it comes to remote employees, one cyberattack could put your entire business network at risk, and it could set you back a long way.
The Best Cybersecurity Tools For Your Business
The only way to ensure that your business network will be protected at all times is to use cybersecurity tools within your workforce. There’s a wide range of tools available, but there are some key cybersecurity measures you can put in place to ensure that your business network remains water-tight.
The first cybersecurity tool you need is premium antivirus software. Antivirus software will constantly scan your devices for any viruses or malware. Viruses and malware can be devastating, especially to your business network. Viruses, for example, can spread through emails or physical media devices. While some might just be annoying and frustrating for the user to deal with, others can be more dangerous by deleting some of your important files or even destroying your device’s operating system. Furthermore, spyware could lead to an increase in phishing scams amongst your employees, and ransomware can be used to encrypt important business files. The only way to remove the encryption is to pay an expensive ransom fee to the hacker.
Once any viruses or other types of malware have been detected, the antivirus software can take action to remove them from your devices before it causes any more damage. This is crucial when it comes to keeping your business files, devices, and accounts secure.
If your remote employees do a lot of traveling and find themselves having to use public WiFi networks to get their job done, you need to make sure to invest in a premium VPN. A VPN can encrypt an unsecured network, which will prevent cybercriminals on the same network from “listening in '' on their devices. This digital eavesdropping has become incredibly popular over the years, and hackers can steal login credentials, personal information, and even banking details in some cases.
If your business has many shared accounts, it’s important to use strong and unique passwords to keep those accounts secure. However, it can be difficult to share the passwords with team members whenever they need to log in. A premium password manager is a perfect solution though. This virtual vault is far more secure than the default password manager on your device or browser, and you can choose which login credentials you want to share with each individual team member.
Important Guidelines to Follow
When it comes to cybersecurity it’s important to not take any chances. Once a cyberattack has been launched, it’s likely that it is going to cause a lot of damage to your network. The saying “prevention is better than cure” has never been more relevant than with cybersecurity.
The most important guideline to follow is to always use premium cybersecurity tools that you can share with your team. Free cybersecurity tools might save you some extra cash, but they often come with severe drawbacks that will still leave your devices and your employees at risk. The main drawbacks you can expect from free cybersecurity tools are more ads, limited usage time, slower internet connections, and limited features, and oftentimes they are less secure than their premium counterparts.