Is working from home putting your company’s data at risk? Humans are always the weakest link in the security chain. It’s important to ensure you have an up-to-date data protection and recovery policy that accommodates a remote or hybrid workforce.
Many employees are not aware that a simple slip-up on their part could lead to a data breach exposing personal data. These data breaches can not only undermine consumer confidence but also lead to costly GDPR fines.
Top data protection and security risks of working from home include:
1. GDPR breaches
Remote working means that employers have less control and visibility over their employees’ data security.
Protect your data – Make sure that you have a strong remote work policy in place that outlines the corporate access control policy.
2. Incomplete backups
Irregular or incomplete backups of home workers’ data (on their laptops, work devices) – this could happen for many reasons, network dropouts or speeds may not allow backups to complete, or devices may be turned off.
Protect your data – Most SaaS data is not backed up and Microsoft 365 data is no exception, so you need to make sure that home workers’ data is backed up safely wherever it resides, and that it is able to be recovered!
3. Unsecured home devices
Work devices will be part of a home network that isn’t (typically) as secure as a corporate network. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that you supply your staff with the equipment required for their job – if employees are using personal devices to access the corporate network it can cause an increase in vulnerabilities and security risks.
Protect your data – Mobile device management (MDM) is key to controlling sensitive information and ensuring security protocols are set up.
4. Weak passwords
You can have all the VPNs, firewalls, training and remote working security policies you like, but people will always be the biggest security risk to a corporate network.
Protect your data – It’s essential that businesses have strong password policies and enable multi factor authentication (MFA) to improve end-user security.
5. Unencrypted file sharing
Your employees share sensitive information on a daily basis, companies simply cannot afford to use unencrypted file sharing solutions or services. Stolen information can lead to ransomware attacks, theft, and reputational damage.
Protect your data – It’s important to make sure that your employees have secure access to the enterprise network, from any device, at any time, in any location for safe but convenient access to work.
6. Phishing and malware
Most malware and other attacks are via phishing emails, and they are working – in 2021 83% of breached businesses reported the breach to be a phishing attack1.
Attackers could gain access by phishing home accounts and potentially gain access through the home network to corporate accounts, systems and devices.
Protect your data – Threat protection for home workers needs to be the same as for those in the office to keep malicious software at bay.
How Daisy can help the data protection and security risks of working from home…
Hybrid working is here to stay, and it can be just as secure as office-based working if you take the time to understand the top data protection and security risks for remote working. Here are a few ways that Daisy can help you mitigate these risks:
- Threat management – Monitoring and isolating suspicious behaviours
- Patch management – Ensuring devices are always up to date
- Antivirus management – Keeping devices, emails, messages and files secure
- Lockdown management – Restricting access to portable media and file transfers
- Password management – Enforcing strong passwords
- Event, network, device and data analysis – Analyse suspicious trends, unsecured devices, out of policy events (passwords, backups, patching, files, etc.)
- Remote backup management and data protection – Analyse and enforce to ensure that data is consistently protected
- Threat best practices – GDPR, cyber security etc. education and training
- Threat and penetration assessments – Testing, reporting, exercising and consultancy
For more information on how Daisy can help you mitigate the data protection and security risks of working from home, click here or give one of our experts a call on 0344 863 3000.