The Hold Everything guide to IT security when you WFH.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have had to adapt to remote work quickly. While this provides an invaluable opportunity for employees to stay safe and for companies to survive, it also presents opportunities for cybercriminals. As many are now working with sensitive data from home, it’s crucial to understand the importance of securing IT systems and data. Staying IT secure when working remotely is a top priority, especially if you’re working with confidential customer data.

In this blog post, we’ll provide key tips and steps to stay IT secure when you are working from home. We’ll cover the basics of IT security, from setting up a secure Wi-Fi network to using strong passwords to ensure your data is safe and secure. We’ll also discuss the importance of using a virtual private network (VPN) when connecting to a remote server and some best practices you can follow to make sure you’re making the most out of remote working. Read on to make sure.

​Despite the various advantages of remote working that have made it popular among the majority of employees worldwide – with over 70% of them working remotely at least once every week – there is still a lack of resources available to combat the cybersecurity issues posed by this form of employment.​

Importance of IT security

When you work from home, you must lock the doors to your house to protect your valuables. Lock your doors to your office when you leave for work; when you work from home, do the same thing.

Laptops are often taken from people’s yards, living rooms or offices. Protect yourt your office laptop when you go to work or when you go to have lunch. And when you return to work, always lock the office doors. Keep everything in your office at all times, including the computer.

Secure your router from hackers.

Cybercriminals try to get into routers by exploiting default passwords because not many people change them, so their home networks become weak.

Using strong passwords on your router to protect it from hackers is a quick and easy way to prevent them from gaining access to your devices.

This could be a good first step, but there are more things you can do. Installing the latest firmware as soon as possible is important for a more comprehensive security strategy. This will help ensure that known vulnerabilities are fixed quickly.

Separate personal from business data.

When working from home, it is important to maintain a professional mindset and separate business data from personal data. This can be done by creating separate accounts and not sharing information between them. Additionally, it is important to use organization techniques such as labelling documents, folders, and emails with clear titles to keep track of any business-related documents and information.

Furthermore, using secure, encrypted software and hardware when accessing, handling, and sending sensitive business data is important. These simple steps can help ensure that all business-related information is kept safe and secure. A professional approach to data handling is the key to ensuring that business data remains protected and secure.
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Keep your work and home computers separate if you need to switch between different devices to pay a bill or shop online. This will help protect your sensitive data if one of your devices is compromised. You’ll never know if a device you use for work has been hacked or a third party has taken over your account.

Take encryption seriously

​Encrypting data is a critical security measure to ensure sensitive information’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Data encryption scrambles data so that only those with the correct key can view it, making it difficult for hackers to access. Data encryption also provides authentication, ensuring only the intended party can view the data. Companies need to ensure their staff have the necessary security measures in place when working remotely. This includes using encryption to protect data from the threats of unauthorized access and malicious attacks. Encrypting data is an effective way to ensure information remains secure, protecting both the company and its customers.

How to encrypt your devices

* Windows: Turn on BitLocker [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028713/windows-10-turn-on-device-encryption].

* macOS:Turn onFileVault [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204837].

* Linux:Usedm-crypt [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt]or similar.

* Android: Enabled by default since Android 6.

* iOS: Enabled by default since iOS 8.

Keep operating systems and software up to date.

​New exploits and vulnerabilities are posted daily to CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) to help people exploit current vulnerabilities in their operating systems. Their developers no more develop some operating systems. OS developers only support the last few major versions of an OS, as maintaining all versions is expensive, and most users do the right thing and upgrade.​

​Unsupported versions no longer receive security patches as vulnerabilities are putting your device and sensitive data at risk.​​In short, always use a supported operated system, and if your device allows it, the latest version.​

Automatic locking

Working remotely is becoming increasingly popular, so it is important to take the necessary security steps to protect yourself and your company’s data. You wouldn’t dream of leaving your bike unlocked on a London street so you should also treat your IT assets with vigilance. Enabling automatic locking on the laptop is one of those steps. Automatic locking ensures that no one else can access your laptop while you are away, requiring users to enter a password to gain access.

This provides an extra layer of security, especially if you are working in a shared space or in a public place. Furthermore, it helps protect confidential information, such as passwords and financial information, that an unauthorized user may otherwise access. By implementing automatic locking, you can ensure that your laptop remains secure and that only authorized users can access it. This is essential to protecting yourself and your company’s data when working remotely.

​All of the above doesn’t matter if you don’t use a strong password. Avoid anything that’s easy to try, such as repeating numbers (e.g. 000000), sequences (e.g. 123456), or common passwords. I recommend using a password phrase like jackandjillwentupthehill which is easy to remember but hard to crack. But, anyway, you should use a password manager like LastPass to vary passwords easily.

If you use the same password every time there are data breaches, which have affected billions of people, all your other accounts will remain safe.

Two-factor authentication helps, but I do worry about sms verification since phone messages can be hacked. My preference is to use an authenticator app if it is available for access security.

Concluding thoughts

When disposing of an electronic device, it is important to ensure that all personal information is securely wiped from it. Wiping the device ensures that the data stored on it cannot be accessed by the new owner or anyone else who may gain access to it.

Wiping a device also prevents personal information such as bank account details and passwords from being stolen or misused. Furthermore, it prevents malware, viruses, and other malicious software from being transferred to the new owner or any future owners of the device. In conclusion, wiping a device before selling or disposing of it is essential in ensuring the privacy and security of its data.

Thoughts on email security.

​Proper email security can protect sensitive information and protect against unauthorized access, loss or compromise of one or more email addresses.

Proper email security can protect sensitive information [https://www.upguard.com/blog/sensitive-data]in email communications, prevent phishing attacks and protect against unauthorized access, loss or compromise of one or more email addresses.​

In conclusion, staying IT secure when working from home is essential. Following the tips outlined in this blog post can protect yourself and your data while working remotely. This includes setting up a secure Wi-Fi network, using strong passwords, never clicking on suspicious links, keeping your software and antivirus up to date, and more. You can stay safe and productive while working from home by taking the necessary steps to secure your IT environment.