With the recent increase of people working from home, comes the importance of keeping your business data safe. Here are some key ways to stay secure when working from home.
Remember the power of passwords
Make sure you regularly change your passwords, especially for critical accounts such as your company email. Always make sure that passwords are strong with special characters and numbers.
To add another layer of security, use two factor authentication where possible. This is where users provide a password, as well as a second factor, usually a security code or biometric factor.
Update programs and operating systems
We all do it. Hit ‘try again later’ on those pesky update reminders that always popup at precisely the wrong time. However, new vulnerabilities are forever being found in applications and operating systems, and cyber criminals rely on users not updating their systems to be able to infiltrate.
So, make sure you find the time for updates to be done and that a current operating system (e.g. Windows 10) is installed.
Remember that Windows 7 is no longer supported and is therefore a security risk.
Protect devices with Antivirus
All business should have software installed on company devices to protect them from malware. Make sure this is the case, and if employees are using their own laptop or computers to work from home, make sure that these also have reliable antivirus security installed.
Use secure Wifi
Protecting the computer won’t help if an attacker connects via Wi-Fi or takes up residence inside your router. This could potentially mean they can intercept your online activities, including accessing your passwords.
Make sure that your connection is encrypted to keep information safe from prying eyes. Ensure anyone connecting is asked for a password, and make sure that this is a strong password and not the default that came with the router.
Be vigilant
Online scams are on the rise during lockdown, and there are some highly convincing scam emails that can sneak into any corporate email. Here are two common scams to watch out for:
Email phishing – where cybercriminals attempt to imitate a trusted individual or business and bait their targets into clicking malicious links and malware-laden attachments.
BEC attacks – A Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a specialist type of phishing attack. They are designed to impersonate senior executives and trick employees, customers or vendors into sending payment for goods or services to alternate bank accounts.
There are a host of ways to try and prevent, spot and deal with these scams but most importantly is to not click any suspicious links or attachments. If you think an email is suspicious then give the company or individual a call to confirm.
