Managing Cybersecurity Risks in Remote Work Settings

a man is working on a project in front of a computer. Remote Work

In the ever-evolving landscape of remote work, ensuring cybersecurity is essential. You might think your home office setup is secure, but have you considered all the potential risks that could compromise your data? Understanding how to safeguard your digital assets is vital as you navigate this new normal. Stay tuned for practical tips and expert insights on managing cybersecurity risks in remote work settings from Bluwater Technologies.

Remote Work Security Challenges

When working remotely, you face various security challenges that require attention and proactive measures. As remote employees, it’s essential to be mindful of the potential risks of using personal devices and connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Cyber threats like phishing and ransomware attacks are prevalent in today’s digital landscape, so implementing security measures like multi-factor or two-factor authentication to safeguard sensitive information is essential.

Using private networks and ensuring your devices are equipped with the latest security updates can help mitigate the risk of a security breach. It’s vital to stay vigilant and be cautious of suspicious emails or links that could lead to potential cyber threats. By staying informed and practicing good cybersecurity habits, you can protect both your data and the integrity of your organization’s network.

Cybersecurity Best Practices

What are the essential cybersecurity best practices for remote work settings that guarantee the protection of sensitive information and data integrity?

To ensure remote work security, it’s vital to update security patches on all devices used for work regularly. Avoid connecting to unsecured networks and always verify the authenticity of emails to prevent falling for phishing scams that could compromise your data.

Establish secure connections through VPNs or encrypted channels to safeguard information from unauthorized access. Implement robust cybersecurity measures such as multi-factor authentication and strong security protocols to add layers of protection.

Additionally, consider physical security measures like locking your devices safely when not in use and securing sensitive documents. Following these cybersecurity best practices can create a safer remote work environment and reduce the risk of potential security breaches.

Employee Training and Awareness

Consider incorporating regular cybersecurity training sessions for employees to enhance their awareness and knowledge of potential risks in remote work settings. Employees can stay informed about the latest security procedures and best practices by providing ongoing training, ultimately strengthening the organization’s overall security posture. These sessions can cover various topics, including recognizing phishing attempts, creating strong passwords, and identifying suspicious activities.

Regular training helps employees understand the importance of security policies and empowers them to actively contribute to maintaining robust security controls. Cybersecurity staff and teams must engage with employees, address their concerns, and provide guidance on effectively navigating potential security threats.

Increasing cybersecurity awareness among employees is a proactive approach that can significantly reduce the likelihood of security incidents. By investing in your workforce’s continuous education and training, you’re taking vital steps toward fortifying your organization’s defenses and safeguarding sensitive information.

Secure Remote Access Solutions

To enhance the security of remote work environments, prioritize implementing secure remote access solutions. Utilizing secure remote access solutions is vital in mitigating security risks associated with remote work environments. By ensuring that employees only access company systems through secure channels, such as VPNs or encrypted connections, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of falling victim to a cybersecurity threat.

Encourage the use of company-issued devices with built-in security features and regularly update security protocols to avoid potential cyber threats. Implementing network encryption and strict security measures can safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Additionally, promoting cyber security awareness among employees will help them recognize the importance of adhering to security protocols and the risks associated with using unsecured devices for work purposes. Remember, investing in secure remote access solutions protects your company’s valuable information and maintains a secure remote work environment.

Bluwater Technologies Expertise

Utilize Bluwater Technologies’ expertise to bolster your remote work cybersecurity defenses.

In today’s digital landscape, remote work has become increasingly common, presenting new cybersecurity risks for individuals and corporate networks.

Bluwater Technologies specializes in developing thorough cybersecurity solutions tailored to the unique challenges of remote work environments.

Their team of experts is well-versed in identifying and mitigating security threats such as cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Ensuring Cybersecurity in Remote Work

To effectively manage cybersecurity risks in remote work settings, remember to prioritize:

  • Regular security updates
  • Secure access solutions
  • Employee training

By partnering with Bluwater Technologies, you can guarantee that your organization is equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to mitigate potential threats like phishing and ransomware attacks.

Stay vigilant, informed, and secure in your remote work environment with Bluwater Technologies, a WheelHouse IT company.

It’s Time to Consider A Remote Hosted Desktop

two children sitting at desks in front of computer monitors

For many organizations, their ability to remain afloat in 2020 and for the foreseeable future, very much depends upon supporting a remote workforce. While there can be many advantages to working remotely or on the go, this relatively new form of work, especially in such volume, likely makes more than a few employers a little nervous. Not only do they not have direct physical oversight of their employees, but they also don’t have as much direct control over the workstations and devices their employees are using either. In this article, we will discuss some of the benefits employers can expect to experience by using a remote hosted desktop. In the end, many organizations will likely view them as an effective way to regain a significant amount of organization and control over valuable assets.

What is a Remote Hosted Desktop?

A remote hosted desktop has its infrastructure, consisting of working memory, software, data, and operating system, residing in the cloud. One of the obvious advantages to this is that IT administrators can now have easier access to the configurations of desktop machines throughout a company even though the employees using computer equipment are all working throughout a broad geographical region.

Powerful and Affordable

Employees that use software requiring significant amounts of computing power can benefit from using a remote hosted desktop model. Anyone that uses graphic-intensive apps such as Adobe editing software or AutoCAD will appreciate both the scalability and affordability of hosting these processes in the cloud rather than from an independent machine. Computing consumption can be more economical as businesses only have to pay for a virtualized GPU. Hosting subscriptions can often be less expensive than buying the high-powered workstations required by such power-intensive apps.

Manage Remote Hosted Desktops Anywhere

Anyone that works in retail knows that managing inventory, along with assets and supply chain components, typically means working between both online and mobile environments. Using a remote hosted desktop configuration, employees can manage processes from any device in any location. Retail processes that specifically benefit from a remote hosted desktop include deploying software updates and evaluating warehouse inventories across multiple locations.

New Options for Healthcare

Healthcare has always been slow to adopt technological changes, largely due to heavy regulations intended to protect confidential patient data. However, with the advent of COVID-19, the use of telemedicine has skyrocketed throughout the globe. Now physicians and other healthcare experts can deliver helpful medical care to patients through the use of virtualized desktops. With the great demand for and overall success of telemedicine, it’s likely that the delivery of effective healthcare has permanently moved in a new direction.

Call Centers

It’s already fairly well known that call centers were one of the first groups that moved to working from remote locations. This type of work typically has a high employee turnover rate and available bandwidth has substantially improved in the past few years. Thus, it should come as no surprise that this type of work will also likely permanently shift to remote positions only.

A cloud-based workspace is ideal for these types of positions since employees typically require all the same applications. Multi-factor authentication and data encryption security features can be built into remote hosted desktops. This provides greater incentives for companies to switch to cloud-based workspaces for these types of positions.

Freelancers for Remote Hosted Desktops

Although companies continue to operate mainly outside the traditional office setting, they still may need to contract with freelancers. Especially during the upcoming holiday season. Remote hosted desktops allow companies to hire the temporary employees they need. Without being burdened by some of the more traditional steps associated with onboarding new staff.

Cloud-based remote desktops offer employers much in the way of tighter control and security over valuable data. IT administrators can easily limit freelancers by only giving them access to the tools and files they need to perform their duties. Onboarding is also simplified, as companies can bring freelancers on simply by providing them with a username and password.

If you’d like to know more about the benefits of remote hosted desktops, please contact us.

Are Distractions at Home Increasing Vulnerability to Cyber Attacks?

a woman sitting at a desk in front of a computer

A lot of people are still working from home right now. Furthermore, many are not working from home under ideal conditions. They may be sharing an “office” with somebody else working from home, trying to care for children, dealing with pets, etc. On top of that, everyone is rather stressed right now. Could this be causing problems with cyber attacks?

Distractions and Cybersecurity

A study done by Tessian in April showed that 43% of a sample of employees in both the UK and the US admitted to errors that could have cybersecurity repercussions.

These errors included sending emails to the wrong person, clicking on links in a phishing email, and employees blaming fatigue, stress, and distraction. Furthermore, the worst offenders were in the tech industry…closely followed by banking and finance. These kinds of errors endanger companies and customers.

To make things worse, cyberattack attempts are also up as criminals take advantage of the shift to remote working. Scammers are using fears over COVID-19 to sell fake masks, trying to use stimulus checks to get personal information, etc. So, not only are workers more inclined to fail to notice a phishing attempt, but they may be receiving more of them.

Some people struggle more than others with working from home, but everyone is likely to be distracted right now, whether it’s by their family, the news, or the climbing case numbers.

What Should Employers Do About Cyber Attacks?

Unfortunately, reopening the office is unlikely to be an option for most companies before at least the fall, if not the end of the year. Schools also remain virtual in many areas, leaving employees stuck with childcare or trying to monitor remote learning. Meanwhile, employees, feeling the situation to be temporary, are unable or unwilling to make major changes to their lifestyle to accommodate remote work.

Employee training is, thus, the best and perhaps only option to resolve this situation. It’s important to continue to refresh cybersecurity training while employees are working from home.

Giving advice and tools to reduce distractions could also be helpful for many employees, especially those for whom a separate office with a closed door is not an option.

Simple ways to help focus include:

  • Playing music, ideally without lyrics.
  • Using the Pomodoro or similar technique to force alternating periods of focus and break.
  • Putting on street clothes rather than trying to work in your pajamas. For many people, this helps the brain get into work mode.
  • Planning out a schedule for the week.
  • Work out what distracts you and deal with it before work.
  • Use timers to block social media and other distracting sites.
  • Turn off your personal phone unless you need it for work.
  • Stick to your normal work schedule and hours.

None of these require that employees invest heavily in a temporary situation, and they can make a huge difference in productivity and focus. However, it’s best to avoid trying to force the removal of distractions. One university got into a PR mess by saying that workers could not care for their children while working from home. Sadly, this is unavoidable for many right now.

Working from home is making all of us more distracted (in some cases even including people who were already working from home, but now have to deal with spouses, children, and the overall stress of the situation). Employers need to make sure that these distractions don’t result in security breaches with improved training and by helping employees learn how to better focus when their office is in their living room.

For help with your IT problems and more advice on cyber attacks and employee training, contact Bluwater Technologies today.

8 Essential Tips for Working From Home During Coronavirus Outbreak

a person sitting at a table using a laptop computer

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, most people are only left with the option of working from home. This is because the virus is easily spread through close contact with someone who already has the virus. If you have found yourself in such a situation, however, it is still very possible to be productive and maintain a balance between work and home. Here are some tips:

1. Act like you are going to work

Changing your pajamas and dressing as if you are going to work is a very crucial thing when you are working from home. This, in a big way, draws the line between being at home and work. Take a shower, apply makeup, style your hair, iron that suit, brush your teeth, and get ready to begin work. It would have looked so unprofessional and weird if, for instance, you received a video call from work, and you were just dressed in pajamas. It is, therefore, essential to take care of your appearance every morning.

 2. Create a working from home space/ office

When working from home, it is vital to keep your home life and work separate. This can be quite hard if, for instance, you have children at home. To avoid all sorts of distractions, ensure that you set up a working space where you will give your work the attention it demands. Try to make sure that the area is comfortable for you to work from there for several hours.

3. Clearly define working hours and stick to them

Working from home can lead to shorter or longer hours of working as compared to the office. Overworking can easily make you have burnout while under-working reduces your productivity. To avoid falling victim to all this, establish working hours and keenly stick to them. 

4. Establish transitions into as well as out of work

Commuting to and from the office is not just a simple and regular thing to do. This is because it goes a long way in preparing your mind and whole self for work and home, respectively. When you are working from home, it is also very crucial to engage yourself in activities that prepare your mind that it is time to work or to stop working. For instance, you can listen to some music to relax your mind for work or clear your mind after work. 

5. Avoid distractions when working from home

One of the biggest challenges people experience from home is distractions. Do not allow your mind to be bothered by the trending news since this hinders your productivity. Try to make sure that you are also not distracted by family members. Let them know that when it is time for work, they should give you enough space to work effectively.

6. Over-communicate

Working remotely requires you to communicate frequently, mostly when it is your first time doing that. Many times you may encounter challenges that you are not sure how to handle. Get in touch with your manager as well as your collaborative workmates. Let them know what your schedule is and what you plan to achieve at the end of every day. Get to know how they are working and coping from home also. This might give you a challenge and modify how you are working. 

7. Do not fall into the working from home isolation trap

Working from home may get lonely and affect your mental health. Try to counter that as much as you can. You can do that by video chatting or calling your coworkers and having the normal talks you usually have in the office. For instance, you can check out how their night or weekend was if you are used to that. 

8. Set break schedules

During the normal working hours in the office, there are breaks that you are given at specific times. Stick to that even while at home. If, for instance, you are used to having lunch with your colleagues, you can do that with your family before getting back to work. This gives you more time to bond with your family and be effective at work at the same time. 

Working from home, therefore, can be as effective and productive as working from the office. To learn more about this, feel free to contact us today.