According to Backlinko, 22.8% of US employees, or 36.07 million people, work remotely at least some of the time. Having this option can be incredibly convenient for employees and can even boost productivity. However, working remotely is not without its risks. Unsecured networks and devices open the door for cybercriminals to try and steal your business’ sensitive data. If you want to give your employees the option to work from home, you need to have the right IT solutions in place to keep everything running smoothly and securely. The following are the best tools to ensure the success of remote work.
1. Cloud-based Tools
For your business to utilize remote work, it needs the proper setup. Your remote employees need to be able to do their job just as effectively at home as if they were in the office. This requires the ability to access important files, communicate with co-workers, run any business specific programs, and more. IT solutions like cloud-based tools make this possible. Cloud-based platforms like Microsoft 365 offer a wide range of options for you to collaborate with your team without being on premises.
2. Security Training
While remote work provides many benefits, it can also leave your business exposed to cyberattacks. When working remotely, employees must use their home or public Wi-Fi, which isn’t as secure as the protected office network. This leaves remote workers wide open to cybercriminals looking for a weak link in a business’ network to exploit. Additionally, working in public spaces leaves employees physically exposed to threats as well since any number of people could overhear important information or see sensitive information.
Remote work requires effective IT solutions that go beyond security software and include comprehensive cybersecurity training. Businesses should regularly train their employees on the latest cybersecurity threats and the best ways to defend against them. Being able to identify phishing scams, use secure networks, and manage sensitive data are just a few of the ways your team can improve how they work remotely and keep your data safe.
3. Regulatory Compliance
In addition to training, businesses must ensure that their IT solutions are compliant with relevant industry standards like HIPAA. Noncompliance can be just as devastating as cyberattacks, leading to hefty fines or even legal consequences. To avoid this, businesses must have secure communication tools, strong access control policies, and audit-ready reporting. This shows your business is serious about staying in compliance and keeping client data safe.
4. Clear Remote Work Policies
Every successful remote security strategy begins with clear, enforceable policies. IT solutions work best when they’re guided by documented procedures that govern how remote employees access and handle company data. Remote work policies should cover the following:
- Approved devices and applications
- Rules around personal vs. company-owned equipment
- Data access levels based on roles
- File-sharing protocols and communication standards
- Clean desk and screen lock practices
These policies help ensure consistent behavior across your team, no matter where they log in. When paired with smart IT solutions like endpoint management software or cloud access monitoring, policy enforcement becomes scalable, even across a distributed workforce.
5. Data Encryption
Remote work requires your business’ sensitive data to be transferred over home/public networks so offsite employees can access it. While convenient, this puts your data at an even higher risk of being stolen by cybercriminals. To ensure your data is secure no matter where your employees are accessing it from, data encryption is required. This practice prevents cybercriminals from being ablet to read your data even if they get past your cybersecurity measures. For optimal protection, your business needs to use file encryption, email encryption, and VPNs to ensure your data is safe in transit and at rest.
6. Password Protection
When you have employees logging into your private systems from remote locations, it’s important to ensure they are really who they say they are. Cybercriminals can easily pose as your remote work employees and attempt to log into your network. IT solutions aren’t always complicated; sometimes they are as simple as using strong, unique passwords at least 10-12 characters long. These passwords can be difficult to remember which is where using a trusted password manager like LastPass comes in.
Password managers store all your passwords in a secure vault that can only be accessed with a master password. Now instead of having to remember multiple complicated passwords, or taking the risk of reusing passwords, you only need to remember one while the rest are protected but still at your disposal. Password managers also encrypt your password data so that it can’t be accessed if it’s stolen, keeping all your sensitive information safe.
In addition to using strong passwords and password managers, multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your sensitive data. This practice asks users to verify their identity through another method of authentication like an application. So, if a cybercriminal attempts to log in using your stolen credentials, they won’t be able to verify the account and gain entry to your data. Additionally, MFA notifies users whenever an authentication attempt has been made, so you know if your password has been compromised and can change it as soon as possible.
Learn More About How to Protect Your Entire Business
Working remotely requires several IT solutions to keep operations running smoothly and protect your sensitive data. And since cyberthreats are always evolving, the ways to defend your business are too. Sign up for our free cybersecurity e-course to get weekly lessons on how to keep your business safe from cybercriminals no matter what.
