With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many employees are working fully remote, and may not be coming back into the office any time soon, or at all. This is slowly awakening IT managers and SMBs to the growing need to invest in secure remote access. Given these circumstances, it’s crucial for organizations to ensure that remote access security for employees is as secure as in-office security in order to keep business assets protected.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a rise in phishing scams and other related cybersecurity attacks that remote employees are ill-equipped to handle. It is important now more than ever to educate employees on cybersecurity best practices. For example, Knowbe4 states that 48% of employees report they do not have an employee security awareness training program in place and only 5% of users can effectively spot a phishing attack. These alarming statistics point to a growing knowledge gap between employees and cybersecurity prevention and the ever-growing need to ensure secure remote access for work-from-home employees.
While many organizations understand the importance of practicing and implementing a culture of cybersecurity awareness and prevention, many are struggling with adapting secure remote access protocols. Organizations need to implement a proactive and secure remote access management strategy that keeps remote employee networks safe, reliable, and compliant.
While organizations may have implemented remote access strategies as a matter of convenience before, they are now a necessity to navigate the access barriers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses need to supply remote employees secure equipment, access through a secure connection, an established VPN, and implement a culture of cybersecurity best practices. It is imperative to keep in mind there is no blanket solution when it comes to securing access for remote employees but rather a collection of layered strategies and techniques that should be proactively put in place.
Small businesses and managers need to remember that their employees are not IT professionals. The prospect of trusting employees to ensure security protocols on personal devices is like climbing Mount Everest without crampons; the intentions are sound but you will inevitably fail due to lack of foresight and proper equipment. Being prepared with the right equipment for a steep ascent will ensure you are secure during your climb up the proverbial cybersecurity mountain.
Organizations can provide three tiers of secure equipment for their remote employees: Bad, better, and best. Here is a breakdown of the three tier system.
Bad: The least secure tier for remote employee equipment is a personal tablet or phone using an Android or iOS operating system.
Better: Personal computers are extremely vulnerable to cybercriminals. While allowing employees to use their personal devices might reduce equipment costs in the short term, it will not reduce the stress and frustration associated with security breaches and ransomware attacks that will inevitably result. Though better than personal tablets or phones, this option still isn’t as secure as it could be.
Best: When it comes down to providing secure equipment for remote employees, the best practice is to provide remote employees a managed company device or office computer. A managed company computer or device can be secured by IT technicians with next-generation firewalls and antivirus software to ensure the equipment is up to date in terms of security and compatibility.
When gauging the efficacy of a secure access strategy for remote employees, an organization needs to consider the path in which remote employees access and connect to the internet. Organizations can ensure a secure remote work environment by requiring employees to only access the corporate network through a secure connection. Here are a few connections to consider for secure access for remote employees.
Organizations that utilize a Virtual Private Network (VPN) provide their remote employees a very similar experience to working in brick and mortar locations. A VPN allows an end-user to establish a direct connection between their PC and the corporate network through a firewall. VPNs provide the much needed extra layer of security to ensure continued business productivity during and after this period of disruption. While remote desktop services and applications might suffice for a small office with only a few remote connections, a VPN will be needed to properly secure a business that requires multiple remote connections.
However, organizations need to keep in mind that establishing a direct connection from a home network can still expose the company network to outside cybersecurity threats. Organizations must closely monitor the status of their VPN or delegate the responsibility to a trusted and qualified managed service provider to mitigate these risks.
Businesses need to recognize that their employees are usually the last line of defense when security breaches arise. While underprepared and uneducated employees can be a great security detriment, knowledgeable employees can be one of their greatest tools for combating remote security vulnerabilities.
Providing employees the education and technology to protect themselves will empower them to handle remote security risks as they arise. Here are a few best practices that will turn remote employees into a unified cybersecurity prevention army.
With remote work remaining a necessity for a majority of organizations, the question persists: how secure is my organization with employees no longer working in brick and mortar locations? Businesses cannot wait to find out the answer to this question. Remote cybersecurity is simply not something that organizations can afford to overlook.
By properly assessing and prioritizing secure remote access for remote employees, SMBs can minimize downtime due to security breaches and ransomware attacks, and focus their time and money on other high priority areas. While the longevity of remote work environments is uncertain, the challenge and importance of securing your remote workforce from cybersecurity threats remains clear. Organizations should partner with trained network infrastructure specialists to ensure remote employees have secure remote access to corporate networks and are securely protected from cyber threats during this amplified time of risk, and in the future.