Home Office: The Best Advice on Data Security for Companies
Remote working has become an integral part of our working world since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Of course, teleworking not only poses major challenges to employees, but also to entrepreneurs and employers alike.
If you deal with the topic of home office, you of course have to deal with the topics of data protection, security and VPNs as well.
Is data security even relevant for my company?
Definitely! Because nowadays, the processing of sensitive data is not only something companies that work with customers have to deal with. Most businesses, no matter whether B2B or B2C, now have to comply with the data protection guidelines of the EU. Company secrets, future plans and other security-related issues must also be protected from third parties.
For most business owners data security in the office is a matter that is often taken care of by IT professionals and is therefore considered guaranteed. When working remote this is often quite different.
How do I ensure that data is handled responsibly in the home office?
Many employers are confronted with the question of how they can ensure that sensitive data is dealt with during teleworking phases and how they can efficiently close any security gaps.
In our short guide to data security for home office work, you can find out what you as an entrepreneur should pay attention to in order to make data-related teleworking as secure as possible.
- Train your employees in cyber security awareness
Most employees are working from home for the first time in their careers. Using unsecured workspaces, cloud-based tools, and private WiFi connections poses risks that most people are not aware of.
Since a company’s security is only as strong as its weakest link, it is essential to train your employees in cybersecurity. For this purpose, some companies have already designed special security trainings for working in the home office.
- Set up VPN connections for extra security
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and these networks have become a useful tool for many businesses when it comes to business travel and remote work, because a VPN offers many security advantages.
A VPN connection also enables your employees to access company resources safely without having to worry about third parties stealing your data. According to the website WeLiveSecurity , a VPN is “an encrypted tunnel through the open Internet to the workplace in the company”.
A VPN connection can be set up independently of the selected network – this makes a VPN the perfect solution for teleworking, as the home WiFi network is often not as secure as needed for business purposes. This secure and encrypted connection enables your employees to access the company network as if they were present in the office. The advantage of this is that the encryption effectively protects your data from third parties.
- Provide IT work equipment to your employees
Experts agree that the greatest security risk for remote workers comes from the use of private devices. This risk is omnipresent and should not be underestimated, because in order to save costs, many owners often ask their employees to us their own PC or laptop.
However, by using private devices, you as an business owner lose all control over the protection of sensitive data. It’s no secret that many people only have outdated computers with inadequate virus protection at their disposal.
It is therefore easy for hackers to crack connections of unprotected devices. Because they are aware of current system security gaps and they actively use COVID19 as an opportunity to develop new malware strategies to send out a flood of phishing emails in order to get to protected company data.
If you let your employees use their own devices, you not only endanger the security of company and customer data, but in the worst case also expose yourself to data protection liability problems.
Do not try to save money at the wrong place! In order to guarantee data security, we recommend that you equip your employees with protected laptops with the latest virus protection and encrypted VPN connections.
Conclusion: The protection of your company is in your hands
Security gaps are omnipresent in the home office. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A few simple measures are enough to protect data in your company. So make use of the comprehensive offers for cyber security awareness and minimize the risks of hacker attacks and data theft for your company.