Are your employees hunkering down during this pandemic? While working remotely can be the ideal option for them now, it should not compromise cybersecurity.
How can then businesses maintain the confidentiality and privacy of their information when employees are not in the office? Here are three tips:
1. Identify the Security Gaps ASAP
Now is a good time for companies to measure their system’s impenetrability. They can work with cybersecurity companies that can perform such tests.
What can you expect from this, though? First, you can determine any security gap that cyberattackers can exploit to enter your servers or steal information from you. Second, together with the cybersecurity firm, you can create steps to:
- Fix these gaps perhaps through patches
- Improve cybersecurity policies in the business
- Determine the best approach to secure remote work
- Identify IT processes that need more stringent monitoring or limited access
- Boost cybersecurity measures
2. Educate the Employees
Inside jobs are one of the biggest causes of cyberattacks, but some of them happen inadvertently. Consider, for example, an employee who clicks on a suspicious URL that embeds a malware into their PCs. Perhaps one of them lost their company phone unfortunately while going for a walk.
Reduce their and your business’s exposure to these scenarios with some education:
- Schedule a day when you can reorient them on possible data breaches, especially now that they’re working outside the office.
- Constantly tell them about the different security threats. You can send an email blast once a week or do a quick check-in once in a while.
- Invite a cybersecurity expert to help them navigate working from home safely, including how to access confidential files from the servers.
3. Invest in an IT Team
Around 20% of businesses, especially small ones, don’t spend on cybersecurity. Although it is understandable, it is also not the best management decision. You stand to lose more by not having one.
In fact, an IT team becomes more valuable today as workers will access data in various locations and at different times. When this alone is not supervised properly, you’re giving hackers the best opportunities to penetrate your system.
These days, you have more options on how to hire your IT team. While you can have it in-house, you might also want to outsource the job. Cybersecurity companies can offer you various plans to fit your needs and budget. You can also scale up or down, depending on how your business goes in the following weeks or months.
You just have to choose the right provider. The following questions can help narrow down your choices:
- How long have they been operating?
- Where are they located?
- What is their expertise?
- Do they have experience in your industry?
- How do they guarantee the safety or security of data?
- What tools do they use?
- How much does their service cost?
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging on, safety should be a priority. However, it should extend to your data. With these tips, you can safeguard your hard-earned assets and save yourself from an IT nightmare later.
