Working from home in at least some capacity has become common in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, though, cybersecurity best practices among remote workers have not caught up as quickly as they should. In many situations, this lack of online protection has led to remote workers falling victim to various types of online attacks.
If you perform any aspect of your job remotely, it’s essential to take precautions. There are new types of malicious data making their rounds on the internet every day.
Read on to learn eight cybersecurity best practices to follow in order to protect yourself, your data, and your devices as a remote or telecommuting worker.
1- Keep Software Updated
Whenever you receive a notification on your devices that your software needs to be updated, either schedule the update or update your software right away. If possible, change your settings on your devices so that they update automatically. This way, you don’t have to worry about validating the notifications to ensure that they’re legitimate. Your updates will just install in the background, only requiring you to restart your device on occasion.
By updating your software, you can take advantage of patches and greater security measures. Not to mention the fact that some updates introduce users to newer, more streamlined features while getting rid of clunky, outdated ones.
2- Multi-factor Logins
As inconvenient as it may be, enabling multi-factor logins (like two-factor authentication) is a smart security move for most users. This is especially true for those who work remotely.
When using a multi-factor authentication method, you can log into a site as you usually would. However, there’s an additional security step you need to take in order to access your account. This could be a one-time code you need to input, a security question you need to answer, or a fingerprint verification option.
Multi-factor authentication helps to not only verify your identity on important accounts, but also prevents cybercriminals from being granted access to your personal information.
Let’s assume you’re trying to log onto the account you use to pay for utilities at home. With multi-factor authentication, even if a malicious third party managed to learn your username and password, they would be incredibly unlikely to gain access to your email account or mobile device in order to gather the two-step verification data.
In some cases, if another person tries and fails to gain access to your account, the website will notify you of the attempt. Afterwards, you can change your username and password to prevent the same issue from occurring again.
3- Use Security Applications
You’ll significantly reduce your chances of having viruses and other malicious programs infecting your devices if you have security software installed. Use programs that are updated on a regular basis so that you can protect your devices from current threats.
Some options come in bundles, where an antivirus program might also include malware protection or an adware blocker. Just in case, let’s go over the different security options you’ll want to have in place.
Antivirus Program
Simply put, an antivirus program scans your devices in order to detect, isolate, and remove any sort of virus data that may have found its way into your system. It’s an essential part of cybersecurity best practices and a crucial tool to use. Be sure to have a reputable antivirus application installed on your devices (and keep it up to date).
Spyware Blocker
Spyware is, as the name suggests, a malicious sort of program designed to spy on users by monitoring their online activities and stealing their personal information. Software that detects and removes this type of content from your devices is called a spyware blocker. Having one of these programs installed can help keep your information private and your devices in working order.
Adware Blocker
Adware refers to malicious software that’s used to automatically download and display ad content on a user’s devices. Usually, these ads are irritating, unwanted, or inappropriate. An adware blocker prevents malicious ad content from finding its way onto your devices. Think of it as a pop-up blocker, but it covers many additional types of ads than annoying pop-ups.
Firewall
A firewall inspects both incoming and outgoing traffic on your device to block unauthorized network access. They can monitor multiple areas of a user’s network, so be sure to have at least one in place. Try next-generation firewall options for the best possible protection against application-layer attacks.
Keep in mind, firewalls also help prevent malware attacks.
Malware Blocker
Malware is a short title for “malicious software,” which is any kind of software developed with the express intention of damaging data or computer systems. This type of program causes system disruptions, steals personal data, and works to gain access to private systems. A blocker prevents this type of content from penetrating the system’s security measures.
Cloud & Email Security
A great deal of remote workers conduct business via email and cloud technologies. It’s essential to have some form of protection for these applications. Cloud providers often offer add-on security tools that users can implement in order to place another layer of protection over their work documents.
Email security aims to protect users against phishing and malware attacks that may be hidden in links poised for the user to click on. An email security program will not only prevent these attacks in many cases, but may have additional levels of security that users can adopt when sending sensitive documents and data via email.
4- Report Suspicious Messages
Should you receive any emails, text messages, or even phone calls that don’t sit quite right with you, listen to your instincts. Most of the time, if something sounds questionable, it is. Cybercriminals often attempt to gain access to an individual’s personal information by sending fake emails claiming to be from a colleague or manager. If the message doesn’t make sense when it comes to recent events at work, don’t click on any links therein.
For example, if your company emails you to discuss new health insurance information via a link, but office personnel have mentioned nothing of the sort, check with your employer. If the email was not sent by someone you work with, report it to your manager to protect your colleagues from the same danger.
5- For Cybersecurity Best Practices, Use a VPN
If your workplace has a VPN you can log into, use it. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) help protect user data moving between employees and the company they work for via encryption. With encrypted data, it becomes very difficult for cybercriminals and unauthorized parties to gain access to your information.
In addition, a VPN also hides your information from competitors so that they become unable to follow your company’s behaviors.
6- Cover Your Webcam
Even if you haven’t left your webcam on after your last Zoom meeting, cybercriminals can still access it remotely. In these situations, you might be spied on without ever realizing it, so be sure to cover your webcam. This way, even if a third party gains access to your camera, they’ll see absolutely nothing.
Webcam covers are relatively inexpensive. If you’re in a pinch, simply placing a sticky note over your camera’s lens will work.
7- Create Backups to Follow Cybersecurity Best Practices
Backing up all of your important work files is an essential part of cybersecurity best practices. This will come in handy whether an attack comes in or not. This is because accidental losses can happen at practically any time. Files get corrupted or lost, and malware attacks have the potential to destroy important pieces of data you’ve worked on for countless hours.
Keep a backup of all your important work information on whichever cloud storage service you use. Update your backups regularly.
8- Secure Your Devices
Whether you continuously work from home or you tend to conduct business while you’re on the go, secure your devices. Set a screen lock and either use a complicated password or set your device up so that it requires a fingerprint scan to open. This way, if another person happens to gain possession of your phone, tablet, or laptop, they’ve essentially stolen an expensive brick that they have to factory reset in order to use. Though this won’t help you get your device back, your personal data is protected as long as you have it backed up elsewhere.
Taking protective action against unauthorized third parties or malicious content is especially important in today’s environment. Attacks happen all the time. It’s more a question of when an attempt will be made on your system than a question of if it will ever happen. Many cybersecurity tools available online have free options, so some level of protection won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Explore your options and research the cybersecurity steps you need to take in order to protect your information. Even a couple of protective measures will make it harder for cybercriminals to steal your private data than no protection at all.
Stay tuned for more on cybersecurity developments for remote workers, among the myriad of content creation topics covered on the Content Cucumber blog.