One of the most significant concerns involving remote working is security. Working from an office puts the onus of safety on the company. When working from home, that onus lies squarely on your shoulders. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to keep all company information and tech safe and secure. Below, Jason Kulpa, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and former CEO of UE.co shares seven ways you can secure your work when working remotely:
1. Keep the Doors Locked
The most basic way to protect company equipment and information is to physically protect your home. Most burglars and intruders look for easy prey. A locked door, or even a fake security camera with a blinking red light, can dissuade the average criminal. Practice basic home security, and you will have done half the job.
2. Block Off Lines of Sight
Wherever you work, whether it's from home or at a coffee shop, you should ensure that no one can simply look over your shoulder and steal critical information at a glance. Put the wall to your back, or draw the blinds if you're working by a window. That also means ensuring that your devices are secure if you ever leave them alone, even for a brief moment.
3. Stay Off Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi may be convenient for the average user, but it represents trouble for professionals. An unsecured network exposes your devices to any and all opportunists, so avoid those as much as possible. Even if you can encrypt your data, unscrupulous individuals can still take that encrypted data and crack away at it at their leisure. Use a personal hotspot, and if you can't, it is best to simply stay offline unless it is necessary to connect to the Internet.
4. Don't Leave Your Devices Alone
One of the simplest ways to steal information is to access the device where it is kept. Don't leave your items alone in the car or at a coffee shop table. Keep them in your line of sight at all times. People do not need to steal your whole device to get critical data - all they need is a few seconds and a flash drive with a program that automatically steals that data in seconds. Lock your devices, or if possible, bring them with you.
5. Block USB Ports from Data Access
One of the most convenient parts of working with a mobile device is that you can charge them anywhere. Most convenience stores even have a quick-charge station that lets you fully power your device in minutes. However, those stations can be vulnerable to data access, as the USB ports that charge are also used for data transfer. Fortunately, you can use a USB data blocker to keep your data safe.
6. Connect Only Trusted Devices to Your Own
Data access can be done quickly and from anywhere. Flash drives, for example, can have programs that steal information the moment they are connected to a computer. Before connecting anything to a work device or computer, make sure that it is trusted and safe. If you connect something and do not recognize its name or its contents, resist the urge to explore it, as even clicking a seemingly innocuous folder can result in a program uploading your device's data to a hacker's server.
7. Keep Work with Work
One of the best ways to keep data secure when working remotely is to keep the information as safe as possible. Doing that can be as simple as keeping your work data on work devices. Those devices will likely be secured by your company's IT department and will have multiple defenses in place to keep information from being easily stolen. Resist the urge to access even work email from a personal device. That window can be all a hacker needs to get data from your office.
Those tips are far from the only ones you can utilize, but they will go a long way toward keeping your data safe when working from home or remotely. If you are a manager, ensure that everyone on your team is as informed as you are regarding best security practices. Your security is only as strong as its weakest links, so keep everyone informed and keep the chain strong.
About Jason Kulpa:
Jason Kulpa is a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of UE.co, San Diego's Fastest Growing Business multi-year award winner, and a Certified Great Place to Work multi-year winner. Mr. Kulpa is a San Diego's two-time winner of the Most Admired CEO Award of the San Diego Business Journal and also a semi-finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur award. Under Mr. Kulpa's leadership, in 2018, his teams volunteered at over 24 events and worked side-by-side to improve the San Diego community. They hosted a gala dinner benefiting individuals with autism, cheered on Special Olympic athletes as they broke their records on the track, and brought school supplies and cold-weather gear to students impacted by homelessness. Jason's mission is to bring awareness, support, and inclusion for special needs causes.
