{"id":28850,"date":"2020-11-12T07:34:22","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T13:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.filecloud.com\/blog\/?p=28850"},"modified":"2021-01-05T00:29:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T06:29:26","slug":"security-risks-during-remote-working-and-how-to-address-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filecloud.com\/blog\/security-risks-during-remote-working-and-how-to-address-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Risks During Remote Work and How to Address Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Working from home increases the risks of critical data theft, especially if you are using your personal laptop for the work and not a company-issued one.<\/p>\n

Generally, people use personal laptops with a casual attitude, without worrying about unnecessary services running on it. Unwanted ports open to the internet, with different torrent clients, cracked software, and unpatched OS. Moreover, people do not hesitate to use any random software on their personal laptops. These increase the risks of malware infection and data theft. Most of these things are taken care of in a company laptop, as IT teams take care of these basic IT hygiene practices while configuring official laptops.<\/p>\n

The second possible attack surface during WFH is other internet-connected devices to our home WiFi. A poorly configured WiFi router at our home or an infected home laptop connected to the same WiFi which we are using for work from home can pose major security risks.<\/p>\n

Business activities that were once conducted in protected office environments, and monitored under specific policies, have quickly transitioned to new, and potentially less secure territory. For example, customer service agents who worked in closely managed call centers are now managing sensitive customer data at home.<\/p>\n

The rapid shift to working from home has also changed the ways many organizations do business from moving face-to-face meetings to video conferencing calls to adding new collaboration tools\u2014yet the survey showed many employees are lacking guidance, direction, and policies.<\/p>\n

Allowing employees to access company data from offsite locations raises concerns about data encryption, the security of wireless connections, the use of removable media, and potential loss or theft of devices and data. In a 2018 survey by Wi-Fi security company iPass, 57% of CIOs reported they suspect their mobile workers had been hacked or were the cause of security problems. Very few companies are confident that their remote employees used virtual private networks (VPNs) to increase security when connecting to company networks. Sixty-two percent of security incidents related to Wi-Fi connections happen when employees use networks in cafes or coffee shops, and 27% of workers in the U.S. admit to opening emails and attachments from unfamiliar senders. Devices are often compromised as a result, putting both personal and company data at risk.<\/p>\n

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of fear surrounding COVID-19 and using it to accelerate attacks against organizations, primarily with COVID-themed phishing emails. In response, it is necessary for companies to take sufficient measures to inform employees and set up policies that will help protect the confidentiality and integrity of their information as well as maintain the availability of their systems for remote employees.<\/p>\n

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