This year has seen a major shift in remote working. After the issuance of movement restriction policies by the government to avoid the spread of coronavirus, organizations had no choice but to send people home. Most were in a hurry to get people up and working from home such that most resulted in advising some people to use their own devices. It is also highly likely that most overlooked the importance of cybersecurity.
Unfortunately, cybercriminals never rest and they are always looking for such opportunities to attack. While you had the IT department take care of cybersecurity issues when working in the office, the problem could have fallen squarely on you now. Not to worry, though, here we enlist 5 tech tips for cybersecurity as you work from.
Use a VPN
Data security is very important for organizations. A leakage of clients’ sensitive information or leakage of private information to competitors can cause an organization a lot of damage. Imagine all the company information that you send over the internet from your computer. If it were to land in the hands of malicious people, it can lead to the loss of your job besides costing your employer a lot of money.
It is very important to ensure that the data you send travels through a secure tunnel. You can achieve this by connecting to the internet through a VPN. This way, data is encrypted when passing through the internet, such that other people can’t read what is being sent.
However, it is important to ensure that you are using a reliable VPN such as NordVPN. This one ensures that you secure up to 6 devices without slowing down your connection. It is equally important to ensure that you are getting it from a trusted source.
Change default credentials on your router
Wi-Fi routers come with default settings from the manufacturers. Ideally, the router should force you to change the default credentials when setting up. Shockingly, a number of them don’t do that. As said earlier, hackers are always a step ahead to exploit such loopholes. It is highly probable that they have a list of such routers and the default admin credentials, which they can use to compromise your connection.
If you didn’t change your router’s default credentials, you should do that right away. Remember to always change the setting on the setup in case you purchase another router. In addition, ensure that you have protected your Wi-Fi with a password to avoid other people connecting to it.
Use an antivirus
The internet has become a part of everyday work. However, using the internet poses some threats to the security of your system. Hackers can send encoded malware in form of links or pop-ups that look genuine to you, only to rein havoc once you click on them. They read and corrupt your data, and sometimes demand a ransom for them to restore back your data.
You can save yourself from such a nightmare by protecting your computer with an antivirus. The antivirus works to block such malicious links and foreign elements from getting to your system. The antivirus will only complement software that is used to send large files and other important data from your computer’s storage.
Be careful when sharing screens
Online meetings have become the norm since the mass exodus from traditional offices. For collaboration matters, it sometimes becomes necessary to share your screen with your colleagues probably when explaining something. However, this innocent act can expose things you don’t want to share, compromising your data security in the process.
While you may trust the people that you work with, it is important to keep private or sensitive information to yourself. Before sharing your screen, ensure that you have closed all the other windows that you don’t want to share.
Use a separate network for work devices
If you have smart devices such as security cameras, smart TVs, and the like that are using your home network to connect, it would be wise to use a separate network for your work. You can’t really trust these smart devices to be secure. If one of them becomes compromised, the rest of the devices in that network can easily be compromised as well including your work computer. Ensure that you create a guest network on your router for your work.
Conclusion
When working from home, cybersecurity could be the last thing on your mind. However, it is good to remember that attackers look for just a tiny loophole and they gain access to your system causing enormous damages. Even as you execute your work, the security of your systems should always be at the back of your mind.
