WFH Security Best Practices when Working Remote
September 11, 2020 |
Remote work brings many challenges for information security - Best Security Practices to follow while working remotely
A study in 2018 found about 70 percent of global employees work remotely at least once per week. However, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, most of the countries have declared lockdown, forcing a large number of employees around the globe into full-time working from home (WFH) routine.
Remote work brings many challenges for information security because of the missing multiple layers of preventive security controls that are available in the work environment.
Here are some of the Best Security Practices to follow while working remotely (away from regular work location)
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks and instead, use Personal Hotspots for internet connections
- When in public, block the sightlines to your devices
- While using public charging stations, use a USB data blocker
- Never use a thumb drive if you do not know where it came from
- Always keep work-related data on work computers only, avoid keeping on your personal computer
- Never leave your Devices or Laptop in the car.
- Make sure to lock your work devices even when you step away for just a bit, this is true even for the workplace.
- When not in use for a while make sure your work devices are either shut down or locked
- If you cannot separate the workspace in your home, at the end of your workday be sure to store the devices in a safe place.
- Always secure home Wi-Fi using a strong password
- Be sure to change the device’s manufactured default password and secure the access to the settings on the home router making it password protected
- Do not mix up work and personal devices usage, keep them separate per your usage
- Do not pay your home bills on the work computer, where you store work-related documents
- Do not send work-related emails using your private email address, in the same token do not send personal emails using your work email address
- Many schools are moving in the direction of homeschooling where possible, it is very much important to keep a child's digital curriculum separate from your work device, as both are huge targets for threat actors.
- Work-related paper files brought at home, need to be handle with the same confidentiality as they are being taken care at the workplace
The content of this post is the opinion of the author and does not reflect the views of TAJ Technologies, Inc.
Content contributed by Ash Dhandhusaria, Infrastructure Manager and Edited by Sonia Sukumar