The technology field is developing tremendously every single day. This has paved the way for working remotely allowing employees to better manage their work-life balance. Note that nowadays, people can work from their home or any remote area they prefer. There are many people who log on during their transit as well. All that is required for this is an appropriate device and a reliable internet connection.
According to some studies conducted in the field, professionals feel that they can be more productive when enjoying flexible time shifts or working out of their regular workplace. Even though working from other locations or home is a great way to increase the productivity of your company, it comes with its own risks. Note that connecting to the client or company data over an unsecured device or network can pose major threats to your business. Unfortunately, this is one of the major scenarios that occurs at companies boasting working remotely or time shifts.
Most people tend to use their personal devices for both private and professional business. Without any doubts, logging in with a public network using your mobile phone or other personal devices will create weak links in the cybersecurity of your enterprise. This can attract cybercriminals. Thankfully, there are ways to tackle this issue. One of the simplest and cost-effective measures for this is a Virtual Private Network or VPN.
What is a virtual private network?
VPN is one of the best innovations in the technology field that will let a person create a secured network connection even if he/she is using an unsecured home Wi-Fi setup or a public network. In this case, the data that can be easily hacked by cyber culprits otherwise will be encrypted even before your public Wi-Fi or internet service providers can see it. Then, the data is sent to the destination from a virtual private network server without being clubbed with the information of your device.
Note that even if a hacker tries to check out the data you are sending or receiving thru a VPN, they will be able to see only the encrypted data rather than its raw counterpart. This way, you can provide an extra layer of protection to your client and company data against cyberattacks when your employees are working from remote places.
The significance of VPNs
The cybercrime rate in the business world is on the peak these days. In fact, ransomware attacks leading to the destruction of companies have become a common issue nowadays. Note that DDoS and malware attacks are reported to be the most popular and common methods used by hackers to sabotage a company. You will be amazed to know that the United States of America is one of the countries that holds a top position when it comes to security breach issues. The country witnessed thousands of ransomware attacks resulting in data loss and huge ransom demands in the past few years.
Furthermore, cybercriminals are most likely to attack small businesses because of poor security measures since it will be easier for them to steal the data. Plus, startups will pay the ransom without much bargaining if possible since they will be more focused on expanding or growing their business. Sadly, business owners who run small establishments often overlook the significance of VPN networks making the task even easier for hackers. According to some studies, the average cost that small businesses in the US had to pay for cyber attacks range from $84000 to $148000.
When it comes to the UK, the monetary loss suffered by small organizations in 2016 alone because of the data breach is around £29 billion. Nevertheless, some sophisticated hackers may target established business enterprises as well. After all, no business is small for an online culprit to exploit. To avoid this, make sure to rely on a VPN and secure your servers and network using anti-malware or antivirus software.
Implementation of VPN
Fortunately, it is easy to implement or use virtual private networks in addition to being cost-effective. Hence, this is a great choice for all the organizations out there that do not have a dedicated IT department or an IT specialist. However, make sure that all your staff is transferring data over VPN networks so that there will be no gaps in your defense. For this, give strict instructions to your employees and ask them to install VPN software on devices such as a home computer, laptops, etc., that they use to perform professional tasks.
Additionally, check whether your team requires a mobile app version of VPN for checking emails or other necessary information on the move. In case you don’t want to deploy a VPN on the devices of almost every employee in your company, make a clear rule regarding who can access client and company data at first and act accordingly. For instance, if your team use to work from home using their laptop, make sure that he/she uses the same deceive rather than their tablets, mobiles, or any other devices even when working from other remote locations.
Other security instructions
Even though VPN is one of the best ways to tackle online sabotage, it is not the only tool that you may rely on. Note that your staff can easily create gaps in your defenses by opening a malicious email attachment or using poor or default passwords. To avoid such silly yet grave mistakes, give proper training to all your employees on cybersecurity as well as the aftermath of a successful attack.
If you are running a small business and cannot afford to put an IT expert on the payroll, take care to focus on factors such as using strong passwords, installing antivirus and anti-malware software on the devices, performing regular scans, preventing and tackling phishing attacks or any other threats, etc. In short, craft a perfect security policy for your company and make sure that all your employees adhere to it.
