Why All Your Remote Employees Need to Use a VPN
Nov 01, 2021
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The recent lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has left a lot of businesses resorting to remote employees. Technological advancements have made it possible for businesses to recruit employees to work remotely.
It has allowed people to be much more flexible with their schedules and it gives people the chance to choose their working hours to some extent. As great as remote working is though, there are some drawbacks to it as well.
If your remote employees are not keeping their devices and account secure, it could put your entire business at risk. It’s important to understand this and stress the importance of cybersecurity to your employees. VPNs help to keep your business safe from cybercrimes.
What is a VPN?
One of the best ways to protect your business and your employees is by using a VPN. A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a cybersecurity tool that can make a difference in the security of your business.
VPN software can encrypt your internet connection which will prevent anyone else from seeing what is happening on your device. This means that cybercriminals won’t be able to snoop through your files and personal data.
A VPN needs to be activated when employees are traveling and using public WiFi hotspots such as the ones found at airports, hotels and restaurants, to get their work done. Public WiFi hotspots are great because they are so easy to access and readily available.
However, the exact element that makes them so convenient also makes them extremely dangerous. Public WiFi hotspots are unsecured connections and this makes them the ideal hunting ground for cybercriminals to find their victims and infiltrate their devices.
A VPN will protect your device when it is connected to an unsecured connection. It will prevent any cybercriminals from being able to infiltrate your device and begin their process of committing crimes.
A VPN can also help your employees to bypass blocked websites or access websites that are only available in another region. This can be done by connecting to one of the global servers on a VPN. This could help your team when conducting research or be able to access their usual websites if they are in a region where they might be blocked.
How Cybercriminals Can Attack Your Business
If your employees’ devices are not secure you run a serious risk of having your business attacked by a cybercriminal. The truth is that it can take just one unprotected device to allow a hacker to get into your entire network.
Cybercriminals have several tools at their disposal that they can use to infiltrate your business. Once they get into one device they will be able to steal email addresses from your network and target them with phishing scams.
Hackers may also be able to crack into passwords and login credentials which will give them direct access to your business accounts from social media to banking. They can often do this by breaking into an unsecured password manager.
Another option that cybercriminals have is to install malicious software on unprotected devices. This can range from a variety of dangerous software such as viruses, spyware and ransomware.
In most cases this software will be installed without the user's knowledge, and they can be passed on between different devices which could infect several devices on your business’ network.
Malicious software will allow a cybercriminal to snoop around the infected devices and steal information from them. For example, they could steal some important information about your business.
They have several options when they get their hands on important information. Firstly, they could hold it for ransom by encrypting the files. This means that no one will be able to open or transfer the files until a ransom fee is paid.
On the other hand, they could steal the files and sell them to one of your competitors. In this case, they would also delete the files on your devices in which case you would lose all of your hard work and progress.
How to Keep Your Business Safe From Cybercrime
The key to keeping your business secure is to ensure that everyone related to your business is using proper cybersecurity measures. This can help to prevent any cybercriminals from infiltrating your network.
VPN software is very important, however, you must avoid using free versions of VPN software. They can often be less secure and they usually have a daily data limit which might not be enough to keep your devices secure at all times while you’re online.
Another cybersecurity tool your team needs to make use of is antivirus software. An antivirus will constantly scan your devices for any malicious software. If malicious software is found, the antivirus can take the necessary steps to remove it from your device.
You should also be using strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts. These can be difficult to remember, so make sure you use a third-party password manager to safely keep track of them.