Cybersecurity Tips For Work From Home Employees

 There’s an increasing number of Americans who have shifted to work from home, which means most of the operations are done online. However, cybersecurity experts are wondering if the work’s remote nature may lead to internet security problems later on.

Even though most employees are used to working at the office where there’s a well designed IT system, it’s almost never possible to determine the number of permutations of a home internet setup. If you are working from home, here are some cybersecurity Florence SC tips that can help reduce your security risks.

Common Cybersecurity Weaknesses In Remote Workspaces

Most companies were unprepared when they were asked to transition their employees to telecommuting. Because of this, many Americans have started to work using their personal devices. This may offer familiarity and convenience, but these devices don’t have any other protection aside from basic firewall and antivirus program.

At the office, there’s an IT department that will make sure that everything is up to date. But at home, your employees are unlikely to keep up with software patches and don’t use VPN, which increases the risk for a data breach.

If your employees are using a family computer, cybersecurity is even more difficult to obtain because other people in the house are also using the computer. Their computer habits may negatively affect your work’s confidential data. If they download an infected file or visit a shady website, your sensitive data could be put at risk.

 

 

Tips To Secure Data While Working From Home

Poorly secured data while working for home can negatively affect your business. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure that the worst won’t happen.

1. Update your network security – while you have to do this regularly, be sure that your devices are updated with the latest security patches because these can help secure your data. Update your router, antimalware and antivirus programs, as well as your operating system.
2. Avoid phishing emails – When COVID-19 struck, scammers immediately used it to smokescreen their attempts to steal sensitive data. One of the classic ways they do that is through phishing emails. These emails appear like legitimate business offers or an important message from a familiar company. But in most cases, these emails ask you to click on a link or download a file. Do not be fooled because if you do that, malware will be installed in your device and your system will be compromised.
3. Use multifactor authentication – passwords could be broken. Humans have been breaking codes for as long as codes were made. So, it’s not surprising to know that there are certain programs that were made to break passwords. Having good password etiquette is good but it’s better if you use multifactor authentication.
4. Set up remote access – you should find ways for your company to develop remote access protocols.
5. Reinforce confidentiality – remind your workers to maintain the same level of professionalism just like when they’re working in the office especially when it comes to sensitive and secure data.
6. Update emergency contacts – you should have a way to get in touch with your employees in case of an emergency. Be sure to compile their phone numbers or set up a secure method to get in touch with top employees that avoids any online breach.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now and let us help shore up the cybersecurity of your work from home employees.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Florence, SC 29501
843-396-8762
http://manageditservicesflorence.com

New Updates For Office 365 Will Include Phishing Protection

Are you an Office 365 user? If so, be aware that Microsoft is adding some powerful new protections to the software suite, designed to make you safer.

Hackers commonly target Office 365 Florence SC users with a type of attack known as "Consent Phishing." That basically means that the hacker in question will use a variety of social engineering techniques to try and trick a target victim into giving up his or her Office 365 access, usually by way of an app that asks for permissions. If the user grants those permissions, the app can install all manner of malware on the target's device.

 

The new security upgrades that Microsoft is rolling out makes users safer in three different ways:

 

• First by a general tightening of app consent policies
• Second, by placing a greater level of scrutiny on publishers of OAuth apps during the verification process
• Third, by changing the rules surrounding user consent when consent is asked for by an unverified publisher

These changes are already in place, and since their initial rollout, Microsoft has verified more than 700 different app publishers and more than 1300 individual apps. Verified apps can be recognized by the small blue badge with a white check mark in its center. Those apps, you can install with confidence.

 

 

As a Microsoft representative explained:

"To reduce the risk of malicious applications attempting to trick users into granting them access to your organization's data, we recommend that you allow user consent only for applications that have been published by a verified publisher."

It's good advice, and these are excellent (even if they're somewhat overdue) changes to the company's policies. Kudos to Microsoft for rolling out the upgrades to their processes, and to the legitimate publishers who are already moving to embrace the recent changes. This will help keep users safe, and that's a very good thing.

 

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you want more information about our Office 365 & Cloud Migration services.

 

SpartanTec, Inc.
Florence, SC 29501
843-396-8762
http://manageditservicesflorence.com

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence