How to Protect Your Remote Team from Threats



With so many people now working from home, online security has been pushed to the forefront of many companies’ agendas once again.

Remote teams do present different security challenges to when you have everyone working in the office, but with the right planning, you can limit those risks. With the buy-in of your employees and these simple steps, you can ensure your business is as well protected as possible, even with entire teams working remotely.

Invest in Training

You want your employees to take an active role in trying to stop online threats to your business, and the only way you can do this is by giving them the right training.

Many security issues are caused by human error, with people not following the right protocols. If you’re not making your staff aware of their duties, then errors will be made, and vulnerabilities will open up.

Training should help employees to identify phishing emails, follow best practices for remote working, and keep sensitive data safe.

Keep Business and Personal Data Separate

When your employees are at home on a personal device, you have no control over the security on that device or how it is used.

If your employees are using work computers, though, you have greater control over the level of security provided. By doing this, you can keep business and personal data separate, giving them an extra level of security.

Setting out guidelines on using personal devices for work purposes can help limit risk and keep your data that bit more secure.

Follow Basic Steps

Simple steps such as using strong, unique passwords, and making sure people are using a good VPN such as SonicWall mobile VPN make a big difference. They might be small steps, but when people follow them all properly, they start to form a strong barrier against security breaches.

Install and Update

It’s imperative that your antivirus software, firewalls, and antimalware software are installed and regularly updated. If they’re not, then it’s a good time to start looking at investing in your security.

When your employees are at the office, it’s much easier for your IT team to limit the security risks, but when they’re out of the office, there are all kinds of threats. If they’re not running high-level security software, then they make themselves, and by extension, your business, an easy target.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Quite rightly, a lot is made of having strong passwords, but you can go a step further by adding multi-factor authentication where possible. This normally involves an authentication code being sent to your email or phone before you can log in.

It might get a little tiresome having to take the extra step every time you log in, but it can make a huge difference to your security.

When your teams are working from home, it’s naturally going to present different security challenges, but if you’re planning well, and investing in your training and technology, then your business should remain well protected.