Our way of working has changed a lot in the last three years. The transition to the digital world and the COVID pandemic have been very decisive in this regard. Thus, the migration to the cloud and the increasing rise of remote work have changed the way we work. However, we must not forget that with so many changes we face many challenges to maintain security when teleworking. In this article, we’re going to tackle how to stay safe in a hybrid world of work.
Governments quickly realized that things were changing and adapted legislation to the new situation. This is how the Distance Work Law was recently approved in Spain, where telework is regulated.
The changes of hybrid work
Both companies and workers must be aware that hybrid work is here to stay. In this aspect, it can help to make a job more attractive at a time when some positions are having a hard time being filled. That flexibility that remote work or telecommuting allows if we do it from home generates greater commitment, happier teams and more profitable companies. You may be interested in these tips for teleworking safely and with good speed.
Cybercriminals, faced with such a changing landscape, have taken advantage of this time to carry out multiple attacks and obtain benefits. Now we are going to offer you some tips to improve cybersecurity.
Assess risks and control e-mail
This new hybrid way of working has seen cybercriminals take advantage of the rise of work-from-home and Internet-connected computers. Thus, the police have warned that it is more possible to suffer an Internet fraud than a robbery.
Therefore, we must have our computers updated with the latest security patches and have a good antivirus. The company’s security team must support workers and prepare them for the future. In addition, workers for their part must be prepared for Phishing attacks, ransomware and receive training courses.
We must also control our dependence on email, since it is sometimes used for identity theft purposes, pretending to be, for example, a senior executive of a company. For this reason, it is convenient to know how to protect ourselves from a Phishing attack.
The company has to provide solutions
IT teams must anticipate the needs of workers. Otherwise, we will find ourselves with an increased risk of leaking confidential information. If things are not done right, employees will use consumer-grade messaging applications that can create unnecessary security risks. What you have to look for is a solution in which the encryption is a priority. Thus, they should be used enterprise-grade messaging apps that enable audit trails and more to IT teams. Also a good practice for employees doing hybrid work from home is that use a VPN.
On the other hand, you have to do some identity checks. Here it would be important to control the duration of the session, establish two-factor authentication and domain claim. The goal is that only authorized people access the information. In addition, you must have a device control, and block those that are rooted, jailbroken, or outdated. In this aspect we must guarantee that only equipment approved by the company is used.
Security mindset needs to change
Hybrid work is here to stay but more and more threats are appearing. In that aspect we have to change our mentality when it comes to teleworking so that IT teams offer us the same level of security as when we work from the office.
The work must be aimed at using business tools, such as the messaging tools that we discussed earlier. Our goal is not to have to resort to unauthorized platforms that are not going to guarantee our security and can cause security breaches.
Ultimately, our goal should be for IT teams and workers as a whole to be able to work from anywhere and to be able to do so securely.
