Operating a remote workforce is something that comes with a whole host of benefits. However, it also inherently changes how you work, meaning that you have to be ready to adapt to these changes to get the most out of this setting.
One of the bigger concerns that you might have if you’re just now thinking about making this shift is how it will affect your business security. This concern might not be enough to put this whole shift on standby, but it does mean that you might have to employ some new tactics to stay ahead of the game.
Network Changes
One of the biggest things that you might have to contend with is the shift from a more localized network to one that’s operating across distances. In that regard, it’s not just the security of your business that you need to be worried about, but also the security of each individual employee you have working remotely. This might be something that you mitigate through a dedicated intranet system – something that can be both convenient as a form of work and collaboration, but also more secure in how your documents are accessed or shared.
Most internet providers will be able to provide a baseline level of security, but this might mean that you have to set some guidelines about how exactly your employees work remotely. You might want them to work from home specifically rather than from cafés or restaurants, where the free Wi-Fi provided is often less secure. You might also want to ensure that your employees are properly equipped with the tools that they need to work securely in the first place. The most notable among these options could be work-specific laptops that your IT team has prepared for this purpose.
Communicate About Potential Issues
When you move to a remote working model, you might find that the way you go about communicating with your team changes. In an office, you might be more enthusiastic about regular meetings or conversations that can get everyone up to speed. While meetings might still be a regular part of your work through video conferencing tools, you might also be happier to let people work independently in a remote environment. This can be great for employee productivity and morale, but it might also lead to situations where developments aren’t discussed as thoroughly as they would be in person.
Take your development team, for instance. If your skills aren’t in this area, you might be more inclined than ever to simply relinquish control and have them get on with whatever they think is best, but it’s important to note how certain decisions might impact security. APIs are very popular and effective tools for designing apps or websites. However, if you don’t adhere to certain API security standards, your use of them could be compromised by a security issue that was entirely avoidable. You don’t want people’s lasting impression of your digital platforms to be one of breached customer trust, after all.
Email Communications
An area of risk, whether working remotely or not, can be found in emails. You might find that your business is often the target of many scams and attacks, something that can manifest itself in the form of suspicious emails that try to encourage the reader to open some sort of link or attachment. The platform you use for your emails might sometimes notify the user when something shouldn’t be trusted, but it can take a lot of independent thought and awareness on the reader’s behalf to make the judgement a lot of the time.
This might all be second nature to you and to members of your team working in IT, security, or other digitally focused areas. However, not every employee will have the same level of familiarity with these types of scams. Unfortunately, all it takes is one weak link in the chain to do damage to your business, and that means that you have to be on the ball – even when it comes to areas that you might have assumed people would find obvious. Basic online safety training might help to get everyone up to speed and remind people what to look out for. You might even find that you’re not as well-informed as you previously thought you were.
Being on the Ball
In many ways, however, it’s important that you pay the same attention to security that you have always done. Just because there are differences in how security is implemented, that doesn’t mean that you should let your guard down in any security areas that you were prioritizing anyway. The only area where this might be relevant could be physical security – especially if you’ve foregone an office space entirely in favor of remote work. However, even then, it might be worth encouraging all of your staff members to be attentive and careful regarding their work laptops and equipment. These are valuable tools, after all, and they can contain sensitive company data you don’t want to get into the wrong hands.
Still, all the old methods that you’ve applied to security in the past will likely still be relevant. Keeping up with current security trends can serve you well, as will regularly seeking the help of your security team or other experts in the field. They can help to advise you on what’s different about a remote working setup, but they can also point towards what’s best at this stage of your business.
Cloud security systems that can take a more adaptive approach to spotting and patching up vulnerabilities will be as useful now as it ever has been, so you don’t need to throw out absolutely everything that you think you’ve learned. There’s a middle-ground between relaxing too much into old ways of security and expecting something entirely new. This mentality can have you prepared to flex around new issues that emerge.
Conclusion
Remote work demands a security-first mindset that melds innovation with proven safeguards. Strong network protection, ongoing employee training, and cutting-edge security tools create a foundation for teams to thrive outside traditional offices. When robust security becomes second nature, remote workers can focus on what matters most: driving results while keeping company assets secure.
