Cybersecurity takes on even more importance during pandemic
As COVID spring turns to COVID summer, many employees are growing accustomed to working from home. Thank goodness the technology exists to work remotely, but it's not as simple as just making sure employees have access to a computer and Internet connection at home. Cybersecurity must be a priority as well. The office is likely a more secure environment than an employee's home, so it's crucial employees know how to work safely in the new business "normal."
All the remote work that has been going on for months now has kept many employers in business, but what are the risks? Is the employer's technology capable of providing sufficient protection for telework? Are employees taking proper precautions? Are employer policies effective? Those are the questions keeping employers up at night.
What are the risks?
Cybersecurity experts have always warned against letting employees use free Wi-Fi at coffeehouses or other places remote workers like to go for a change of scene. Since those environments are invitations to cybercriminals, an employer-provided secure "hot spot" device can be a smart investment for workers without secure Wi-Fi.
Remote workers who need to stay connected to an organization's IT network need an enterprise virtual private network (VPN). But to keep data safe and avoid various cyberattacks, you need to adopt a heightened state of cybersecurity, according to a March 13 alert from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.