Why data security is critical for your business
Today, more people are working from home than ever before, and data security is at the core of running your business successfully in this “new normal.” Your customers need to be confident that their information is collected, stored and transferred without the risk of exposure to hackers and criminals. Similarly, your employees need to be empowered to use their networks and devices to maintain productivity securely.
Even organizations with robust cybersecurity measures face new challenges when employees start to work remotely. Workers may have to rely on unmanaged computers, networks and mobile devices that are difficult for IT departments to secure. Additionally, sensitive customer transactions take place on shared internet from your employees’ home router, and malware attacks can exploit vulnerabilities present in unpatched operating systems.
How well your company functions with a remote workforce is critical in determining success in the work-from-home era. How your company manages the data security tradeoffs inherent to a remote workforce is even more critical. Having a sound remote data security plan will protect your brand, keep customer confidence and enable employee productivity.
Best practices for remote data security
- Establish a telework policy
If your business is migrating from an on-premises model to a remote workforce, strong security policies are critical to securing your data and enabling your employees to succeed. The key questions that will drive your policy decisions are:- Will your employees use personal equipment and devices to access company information?
- Will you restrict access to sensitive data for off-premises personnel, limiting access to only those on-premise?
- Will you enforce the application of critical security updates and patches on employee devices?
Security risks associated with telework cannot be eliminated. With the right procedures in place, however, your organization can drastically mitigate the risk and impact of occurrences. A professional IT service provider can help you establish a policy that is best suited for your unique business situation.
- Use a virtual private network (VPN)
A VPN is an encrypted connection over the internet that can provide your company with critical work from home capabilities:
- Keeps sensitive company data on a secure, private intranet rather than internet-facing sites.
- Mitigates security vulnerabilities associated with home networking and routing equipment.
- Encrypts connections to company resources.
- Provides the first line of access control to all company systems.
- Allows multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect against stolen credentials.
- Manage sensitive data with multiple layers of security
Protecting proprietary data and customer information is critical to the survival of your business. If your company is subject to compliance regulations, a data breach could be fatal. Apply access control policies and technologies that prevent remote employees from downloading sensitive data to their home devices. The right combination of user authentication and data encryption can help your business maintain remote data security. - Provide employees with secure, managed devices for their remote work
Furnishing your remote workers with equipment managed by IT and cybersecurity professionals is a critical step in ensuring the security of your data. This ensures that all devices that access company resources are properly updated and prevents employees from downloading unauthorized software that could expose your system to threats. - Establish a data loss prevention (DLP) program
Data breaches happen in even the highest performing IT organizations. Plan for it. Your company needs processes and technology to contain spillage and mitigate the costs to your reputation and strategic objectives.
DLP is an end-to-end cybersecurity management approach that can help your business identify, monitor and control the spillage of confidential company information. Even small and medium-sized companies benefit from enterprise-wide security protocols.
At IT Architechs, we put people over processes and technology
There is no silver bullet. No technology or security policy will eliminate all threats to your company’s data, especially in the era of remote work. Your company’s greatest assets are the people you entrust to access your systems and information. The experts at IT Architechs can help you train employees on what to do in the event of a data breach and help you use post-mortems to improve the security posture of your organization.
IT Architechs is committed to providing you with the best remote data security in the marketplace.
There is a reason that IT Architechs is a trusted data security partner. Our security solutions will enable your remote workforce to safely access the data and systems they need to be productive. Talk with one of our experts about our remote IT service offerings.
