The recent outbreak of the corona pandemic has changed the daily routine of millions of people around the globe including the way they work. Public health officials have advised the people to maintain social distancing in these crises. So, most of the employers are offering their employees the option to work from home. Many renowned companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft have allowed their staff to work from home to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Many companies are restricting travel to prevent their employees’ potential exposure to coronavirus. Big events are also being canceled or are being turned into virtual gatherings in this regard.
It’s necessary to keep cybersecurity in mind if you are working from home as the rise of cybercrimes continues to accelerate. Which means you need to protect your device and data as you would do in your workplace.
Here are some tips to secure your device and data while working remotely.
Software updates often have critical patches to security loopholes. Updates also improve the user experience by removing outdated features and adding new ones. So, it’s important to keep your software updated to avoid any inconvenience in usage and cybercrimes.
Read next: The Latest Tech That Can Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder, As You Work Remotely (infographic)
It’s necessary to keep cybersecurity in mind if you are working from home as the rise of cybercrimes continues to accelerate. Which means you need to protect your device and data as you would do in your workplace.
Here are some tips to secure your device and data while working remotely.
Maintain a tight contact with your employer
It’s a smart move to stay in touch with your employer. You will be getting emails about the changes in the company’s policies being made. The employer might send you the corona related information. Also if there is a question in your mind, you can always ask your employer. After the coronavirus pandemic around the globe, most of the companies have been making changes in their work policies to cope up with the situation right now. So, it’s important to stay in touch with your company to know about new policies that will help you, your coworkers and the business to stay safe.Use your company’s tech toolbox
After the huge increase in cybercrime in the past few years, most companies around the globe have taken steps to keep their employees digitally safe while working. For this purpose, companies mostly have their tech tools. Some companies provide their dedicated devices like laptops and mobile phones. These devices come with built-in firewalls, antivirus protection, and security features like VPN, etc. Most security-savvy companies design their tech toolbox to protect your device and data. So, it’s important to use the company’s tech tools to stay safe from cybercriminals.Control the urge to extemporize
Most companies are using instant-messaging platforms and video-meeting rooms for employees to work in teams. The huge usage spike nowadays can cause these tools to not work properly sometimes. Avoid using a substitute as this can result in cybercrime. The substitute might contain a security flaw which can result in cybercriminals having access to your personal information on your device or company data. Companies always use security tools and you can’t always have a quick-fix tool having the same level of protection.Keep your software updated
There always comes a reminder pop up on your device if there is an update available for any software. You should always keep all the software updated. Configure your device to update automatically so that you will not have to update the software manually.Software updates often have critical patches to security loopholes. Updates also improve the user experience by removing outdated features and adding new ones. So, it’s important to keep your software updated to avoid any inconvenience in usage and cybercrimes.
VPN must be turned on
A virtual private network creates a secure network over the internet from your device to a network. It provides a secure way to send and receive important files. It also scans your device for harmful software such as viruses. VPN helps you to send and receive important documents like financial statements, company’s strategy documents, and customer data files safely by protecting it against bad actors and other snoopers who are trying to see what you do online.Beware of fake emails
After the outbreak of the corona pandemic, cybercriminals have started to send fake emails with malicious attachments. You might receive an email regarding the coronavirus information and when you open it, your device automatically downloads malware. To avoid this, just don’t open the email rather report it immediately to officials. These types of emails can be so dangerous that cybercriminals can get access to your device completely and may get your sensitive business information. So, it’s important to beware of these types of phishing emails.Create a new daily routine
After the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the way of living life has changed drastically. To be more productive while working from home, you need to change your daily routine. Structure your daily routine in a way to work more efficiently and maintain continuous contact with your team. You might lose your focus due to social isolation and you need to take steps to not let that happen. The virus may have changed the way you work but remember you still have that job and you need to do your job efficiently. So, it’s important for you to change your daily routine in such a way so that you don’t lose focus.Read next: The Latest Tech That Can Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder, As You Work Remotely (infographic)