Remote work has endless benefits for employers and employees. Employers unlock cost savings without compromising performance and productivity. Employees acclaim it for the freedom and flexibility that inherently come with working from home and ditching tiring commutes. However, security is a concern both encounter when working out of the office. As a small business owner, you will probably worry more while allowing remote access to your confidential data and applications. A breach can be risky as it affects your revenues and reputation. However, you can overcome the fear by implementing some simple rules for employees accessing your resources. Here are the ones small business owners must enforce.
Ensure use of company-owned devices
If your small business can afford to provide laptops to remote employees, you must surely do it. Ensure they use company-owned devices instead of personal ones. The risk of data theft and breach runs far lower as your IT team can take measures like manually configuring firewall settings and installing antivirus software on business devices. You must have a strict BYOD policy if you let employees access your systems with personal devices.
Mandate risk prevention
Mandating risk prevention for remote users is the best start to securing your work environment. You can begin with security training and awareness for new employees and ongoing education for the existing ones. Focus on educating them on the prevailing and possible cyber threats and potential actions to prevent them while accessing confidential data and applications from a different location. For example, ensure they use secure passwords and change them frequently.
Vet your vendors
The risk to your company’s internal network may come from every conceivable place. Think beyond direct employees because third-party vendors may also create entry points into your infrastructure. However, you must collaborate with one to implement a Remote PC Access solution for your business. Vetting your vendor limits the risk because most go the extra mile to protect their clients. You can seek recommendations and check buyer reviews to choose a trustworthy solution.
Necessitate regular back-ups
Any organization is as good as its data, and small businesses are no exception. Companies use cloud storage services to store data online and provide it to remote workers by enabling access from anywhere. While your employees should follow best practices to access and download data, they should also take regular backups on company devices. Consider it a way to safeguard your assets so that you can recover them in the event of a disaster.
Foster honesty
Nothing matters more than employee trust when it comes to remote access security. You may have the best measures to secure your network, but unscrupulous employees may still support an act of data breach or a hacking attack. Vetting employees with proper background checks ensure you get only trusted employees on board. Foster honesty in your team and implement a zero-tolerance policy against malicious people.
Remote access is risky because even a minor error can have dire consequences. You can secure your system by educating employees and ensuring they follow these rules.
Also Read: Remote Employees: How to Boost Their Motivation and Production
