7 Cybersecurity Tips For Working From Home

While working from home is not a new norm, it has become a fad (and necessity) due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Even tech giants like Google and Facebook have asked their people to work from home. This is important to prevent the spread of communicable coronavirus which can eventually flatten the curve. Working from home has its own benefits. It ensures work flexibility, meaning that you can work from anywhere, anytime. It also saves you hassles of time and money being wasted on commuting to and from office.

But it can’t be sidelined that your home computer is more vulnerable than its workplace counterpart. At the workplace generally, there is a dedicated IT staff to take care of the cybersecurity measures. But you are supposed to take care of your cybersecurity while working from home. For example, your personal computer or other devices are not secure beyond a basic antivirus program or firewall. And today’s cyber threats can easily outwit these basic pieces of IT protection.

To help you minimize the Data security threats you might be going through while working from home, here is a rundown of some tips for safe remote working.

Avoid Phishing Emails:

COVID 19 has provided cybercriminals with a new way to inflict their attacks. And sending phishing email is an obvious tool to do that. For example, they can trick you into opening the mail by giving you info or asking funds for coronavirus. In most cases, these emails might look like a business offer, an attractive deal, or even an important message from your team leader or boss, but in every occasion, there’s a link to be clicked. But don’t click it unless you verify the sender of the email. Those links generally take to a required download that injects malware into your computer, immediately harming it in the process. Watch for odd email addresses, strange grammar or generic greetings that don’t go with the trait of the individual sending the email, and whatever action you take—avoid providing any personal information.

Keep Work Away from Personal Devices:

You need to set boundaries between work and home life while working from home. Do you have a kid being homeschooled and doing digital homework? Are you ordering online to avoid retail stores? Make sure to do such things on separate devices. While it might seem stressful to constantly move to and fro between the two devices, try your best to keep your main work PC and home computer separate. The more programs and tools you install, the more prospective vulnerabilities you invite to your computer.

Avoid using the same computer to pay bills and manage spreadsheets. This not only leads to confusion but also makes your personal information vulnerable to when a threat actor will look to compromise your business information. Don’t send office-related emails from your personal email address and vice versa.

Use Strong Passwords:

While using strong passwords might seem a basic piece of advice, you cannot afford to take it for granted. Do you have passwords like ABCD, 1234 or your date of birth? If so, you are inviting cybercriminals to crack them. Don’t use such passwords, especially for the database of your company. Your password should be a combination of symbols, numbers, lower and upper case along with alphabets. Also, change your passwords at least every six months.

Avoid Downloading from Unverified Vendors:

If the required app is not available in a trusted app store like App Store, Google Play or Microsoft Store, you are likely to find it at a third-party store or unverified vendor. Here’s a word of caution for you. Apps available from an unverified store can contain viruses or malware. It is better if you consult your IT department before downloading any app from such vendors.

Configure Router Setting:

Generally, routers come with factory settings and passwords. However, not all change them. A serious threat is that a threat actor can exploit your poor Wi-Fi router security measures and keep a tab on your traffic to obtain sensitive information or leverage your network to launch attacks like data theft, network sniffing or Man in the Middle attacks. To safeguard your remote connections, it is important to change the router password every week to prevent unauthorized access to your network. However, some routers are not password-protected. So they can’t be encrypted. Such routers should be replaced with WPA2 or WPA3 to save the flow of data from cybercriminals.

Be Careful While Sharing Your Screen:

During online meetings, be careful while sharing your screen. Make sure to close all windows that you don’t want to share. Incidents do occur, and sometimes you might share something that you didn’t intend to. While it can be stressful, it’s also a privacy concern. You might be sharing content that is not meant for other viewers.

Install Quality Antivirus:

Antivirus is an important security tool you require while WFH. An effective antivirus safeguards your company’s information against several threats. It protects your computer from potential threats. Antivirus software also deals with new threats. It should be updated when it notifies you for the same.

So these are some important cybersecurity tips while working from home. You are responsible for your cybersecurity while working from home. Therefore, it makes sense to practice the security measures to keep risks at bay. If you want to get some additional Proactive support you need to get in touch with best IT services Provide.

What do you think? How do you protect your digital landscape at home? Comment below!