Maintaining data security while working from home
Many interns have been forced to use their personal laptop and network as part of work from home. Due to this, concerns regarding data security have risen where employers are worried that their interns might misuse, intentionally or unintentionally, sensitive and confidential data. In this segment, we will list the best practices to avoid such scenarios.
1. Remember work from home is still work – Remind your interns that they might be working from home but they still need to be responsible and professional when it comes to office-related stuff. This includes not using their personal email IDs for work emails and keeping track of what they are printing at home. If the information they are printing is sensitive in any way, they need to be extra careful with it.
2. Lock your data in a safe – Our homes and cars have locks on their doors; similarly, companies need to have strong perimeter security to keep the bad people out. This entails having the right remote access technology (e.g., VPNs), perimeter protection technology, and making sure the software that runs and manages the technology remains patched and up to date. Also, this might be the perfect time for encrypting sensitive business data.
3. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity – While you do everything you can, it is important that you monitor everything. This includes monitoring who comes into your network and what they do while they are there. Also, monitor what devices are people using to remotely access your network, to identify if anything shady is going on.
4. Avoid using personal laptops – In case your interns have been given office laptops, ask them to not use their personal laptop for any office related work. A lot of times our work includes downloading sensitive data or information, and it’s only logical to not download office data on our personal laptop.
5. Determine who needs access – We understand your concern about data security and the safest bet would be to only give access to data or software if required. We believe you have mechanisms to give partial access to tools & data, and this would be an ideal time to use that.
6. Hire the right people and show some trust – This point seems to be applicable everywhere. If you are working remotely, it is utmost important for you to believe that you hired the right people and trust that your interns would never misuse confidential data intentionally.
These were a few tips that you could implement to ensure data security. There are also a few measures that your interns can take to stay vigilant such as –
1. Be watchful of phishing emails – We are sure you are aware about the threat of phishing emails and the harm they can cause. This shift towards work from home is a perfect opportunity for the Jamtara criminals to trick innocent people. According to various news sources, there has been an increase in business email scams in the past few weeks. To safeguard yourself from such emails, enable multi-factor authentication on all your accounts, especially your Office 365 email accounts; this will save you from most of the phishing threats. Other than this, be wary of who you are receiving emails from and only use secure payment gateways for making any payment. Don’t get lured by any coronavirus related offers!
2. Practise good cyber hygiene – One should always practise good cyber hygiene, but it is even more important right now. This includes having up to date devices, internet routers, anti-virus, and a firewall. Same goes for your internet connection; always use secure password-protected internet connections and avoid using public wifi, especially for accessing sensitive information. Also, do not use bluetooth in public places because bluetooths are a very common way for hackers to get into your system.
3. Report stolen or lost devices – In case your interns lose their office device, ask them to inform you immediately so that necessary steps can be taken to minimize any kind of risk.
Although it is important to take the necessary steps to minimize any risk or negative impact on our work due to Coronavirus, we also need to stay calm and safe. We hope this article helped you get some ideas about how you can plan your work better till we go back to our offices. Now, let’s get back to work!
