During a time of uncertainties amidst the COVID-19, working remotely has become the answer to many businesses. Businesses have major decisions to make during this type of event which includes protecting their employees and their health but also keeping the business going. Many businesses have decided that it’s in their best interest to send their employees to work remotely and this is actually recommended by the CDC as well. Working remotely can be beneficial during this time yet comes with a few steps so it works properly. Make sure you take all of these tips into consideration to allow for an easier transition to working from home during COVID-19 and so you can maintain business operations.
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VPN
This is highly recommended for secure remote access while employees are working remotely. There are two types of VPNs. A traditional Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure connection between your remote employee through the Internet back to your office, allowing them to securely access your internal applications and files. If you still have applications that are hosted from inside your office, this is needed. The second kind of VPN which just provides the employee anonymity will keep their connection private should they be on an insecure connection but doesn’t give them direct access to your office. The latter would be necessary just to protect the privacy of the employee while they connect to cloud resources such as Office 365. This can be found in our blog, Things You Need to Know About Data Security When Traveling or Working Remotely. Both kinds of VPNs encrypt the data being sent through them, so hackers can’t access it. They also mask your IP address for additional security which is vital for working remotely.
Device Security
Make sure that your employees have the right security on their personal devices or the ones you provide them. This includes anti-virus software, changing wi-fi passwords before using it for work purposes, and setting up multi-factor authentication.
Access & Equipment
It’s important during this time of shifting to working remotely that all employees have all the needed access to data for their jobs. Make sure you have login information, files, access granted, etc. for when they move to remote work. Also, they need a set up at home to work properly. Such as a laptop or desktop, internet service, telephone, etc. for them to fully be able to complete their needed tasks. In order for the employees to keep doing their jobs efficiently at home, you’ll have to be sure they have the access and equipment prepared and set up.
Training
Make sure your team is aware of popular scams such as phishing emails. During this time there will also be an increase in impersonation phishing emails. Hackers will take advantage of people working from home and try to trick them into scams. Cybercriminals will create email accounts that look almost identical to the actual company and send emails out to employees or to impersonate the CEO or other management of the company. What they do is they trick accounting or human resources to transfer funds or send out confidential information. Be on the alert for emails starting something like this:
“Hey this is Mr. CEO. I don’t have access to my work email right now, can you do …..”
To read more about this type of email fraud click here for a recent blog we have on email security for your business.
To learn more about CEO Fraud click here for a blog on the timeline of CEO Fraud and how to not fall victim to this type of fraud.
Communication
Once you have the equipment, VPN, security, and access are taken care of then you need to decide on how you will communicate with the team. We highly suggest a real-time chat system like Microsoft Teams. There are also other options like Zoom or other video conferencing platforms.
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Working from home is different for many people across the board and some can have a hard time with it at first but as long as you have these steps in place and continue managing and communicating it can work out great. Make sure you provide direction and schedule during this time as well as expectations. It requires everyone to participate and be responsible regardless if they are commuting to the office or not. These working from home strategies during the COVID-19 can also be used for other things that could arise whether it’s weather-related or sickness too.
Does your business need assistance with IT support or cybersecurity during this time? We offer solutions that can help you with security and protection during these times as well as support on any computer issues for your team. If you are interested in signing up for a free consultation, give us a call at 201-297-7778 or go online here and schedule today!
