Hackers are having a field day these days with so many people working remotely. There are a lot of weak links in the security chain that can be exploited. Since many companies were thrown into their situation with a workforce working from home, there wasn’t enough time or resources to put into security. 

There is a much higher risk of a data breach when employees work remotely and require solid endpoint detection and response to keep things safe. Since it seems like this trend toward remote working is not going away anytime soon, it makes sense to get to work shoring up any of the possible vulnerabilities in the system. 

In this article, we will go over the best ways to secure your network when you have a remote team.

1 – Establish some security protocols

The first and last line of defense is going to be the education of your employees on how to secure their workstations from attacks. It doesn’t matter how high-tech your security system is if the people that need it most don’t know how to use it or are negligent about its use. 

Have a training system that is mandatory for all employees on how to keep themselves safe. This should not only include how to use the security system but also how to do things like share sensitive information. 

Unbelievably, there are many people who still fall victim to things like phishing scams and end up getting information that can be used to attack the system directly from the employees themselves. 

All the protocols need to be explicit with added learning on how to comply as well as what the consequences will be in case they are not followed. 

2 – Update network settings frequently

At a very minimum, every network security system should include ​​firewalls, antivirus software, and spam filtering tools. Since there are so many moving parts to what is included in a network system, there are going to be patches that happen at different times for all of the components. 

This makes it imperative that the settings be updated frequently so all security vulnerabilities are patched up before they can get exploited. 

Have all employees run their updates on a set schedule to make sure that everybody on the network is able to stay secure. 

3 – Have device rules

Since many of the employees working remotely will be using the devices that they have at home, it is important to have strict rules about their use. If it’s possible, the company should send its employees a company computer and smartphone that can only be used for business so it is not at risk of being breached.

Where this is not possible, it is important to make sure that people understand how they are and are not to use their devices when not at work. Make sure that they use the latest security software on their personal devices in case they are not able to separate their devices from their personal use.