The COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed how businesses operate these days. The rise of the global health crisis resulted in an equally rapid transition from working on-site to a remote workforce. Due to the abruptness of shifting to a remote work setup, security becomes ignored as companies ramp up their efforts to adjust to the new working environment.
Although working remotely provided plenty of benefits for remote workers in terms of productivity and flexible schedules, it also comes with cyber risks that can significantly affect a company’s cybersecurity protocols. This led corporate offices to adopt security tools to protect company data from cybercriminals. One great example is the O365 email backup that helps companies back up their Microsoft 365 emails and protects them from human error and security threats.
Business transformation is obviously a security risk. New working practices and technology tools require security measures to prevent cyberattacks. Although companies can easily manage this issue, not all companies have realized the speed and scale of cyberattacks on remote workers. Below are examples of cybersecurity threats that businesses and remote workers should be aware of to protect their privacy and data assets.
Password sharing
When working at home, employees have a habit of sharing passwords with family members, partners, and roommates to prevent delays and accomplish tasks quickly. According to Inc. magazine, 95% of people are sharing over six passwords with a third party, and it only takes a single password for a hacker to enter a network.
Another potential risk is the failure to change passwords or not using passwords at all. Sadly, not all people bother to change passwords regularly, while others don’t consider changing their passwords. Repeated passwords pose a serious risk that hackers can easily exploit. Employees who use the same passwords across business and personal accounts expose the company account from potential hacking. Meanwhile, employees with no secured password for their devices and network has more chances to lose their data.
Sharing passwords across personal and work accounts can significantly affect multiple systems. Once the hacker gains access to the code, they can easily infiltrate the corporate network by using a similar password.
Using personal devices to access company account
Keeping your professional and personal lives distinct and separate is a challenge for most workers. This also applies even to the devices we use. That’s why this leads to another huge concern for businesses with employees who use their personal devices for working and opening company accounts.
Although many businesses supplied their employees with company-owned devices during the pandemic, some employees still rely on their personal computers. During the first months of the pandemic, businesses are scrambling to switch to remote working that they mainly focused on providing account access on remote locations without considering its security risks. Such action can result in unprotected technology access within the business.
Company-owned devices include multiple security measures that any cybercriminal cannot access. With personal devices, maintaining cybersecurity for remote workers becomes challenging. When an employee uses their personal device, it can lead to multiple cyber risks, such as hacking and virus threats. If a child uses the same device, they might end up deleting some files accidentally. This is also dangerous for employees who sell their devices without deleting confidential company information.
Unlike corporate devices we use in the office, personal devices don’t have secure and suitable software applications for business use. Also, employees may use services and applications without the approval of the company’s IT department. This can be dangerous if the employee stores company data in external file-sharing applications, which can result in data leaks.
Home networks are often insecure
In most instances, home setups that use devices and residential network connections to access private company data pose serious risks in data security. For example, a typical home setup usually lacks a strong cybersecurity tool, such as firewalls, antivirus program, VPNs, and other intrusion prevention software which are used to protect the company from cyberattacks.
Sadly, it is rare for businesses to enforce robust security measures in residential locations where employees are working remotely. What they’re not aware of is the importance of basic security tools for remote workers to protect company data. As a result, they are exposing their private assets from breach occurrence and other forms of cyberattacks.
Like working on-site, the role of cybersecurity is more critical in remote working. There are plenty of risks involved that can lead to huge data losses and financial costs. That’s why it is the responsibility of companies and employers to ensure their employees are following the right security guidelines to work from a remote location safely. In turn, employees should take careful steps in protecting company data to prevent any liabilities.