Coronavirus has forced many companies and organizations to adopt new ways of working to assist in controlling the spread of the virus. According to Mayur Rele working from home is one of the ways that have proved to be working well so far. There are many applications, both public and private ones, that have proved working virtually, from home is one of the best ways not only to help in lowering the company’s expenses but also in curbing the spread of the Coronavirus.
Besides, one can be more productive when at home. This is one of the strategies that some organizations have adopted during this corona epidemic period. It helps in providing more flexibility, without having to worry about what is happening their kids and other things at home that make one worry when he or she is far from home.Even though working from home has many advantages, it also poses some cybersecurity risks, that can cause companies and organizations to lose if measures and controls are not taken into consideration. Therefore it is of paramount importance that everyone in the organization is familiar with such risks associated with virtual working from home.
Insecure home network setups
Most home network systems have may not have network security features like firewalls, network antivirus, strong passwords, and many more. They even have default usernames and passwords that are easy to guess, making it easy for hackers to access the network without any difficulty. Intrusion prevention systems, VPNs, and antivirus solutions are very important for anyone who wants to have a secure home working environment. There is a need to put all these measures to make sure that one is working in a protected environment even when at home. Hackers know it is easy to use the home networks system, which has poor security, to gain access to an organization that is hard to hack through an employee working from home.
Working remotely needs one to be strict on security measures and control because many loopholes can occur due to home open internet, which is accessible to everyone without security features in place.
The use of open and unsecured applications
WhatsApp, Google Meet, and Teams are open platforms that have helped many companies to have virtual meetings. They have enabled many organizations to cut meeting costs that could have been physically carried on in hotel’s meeting halls. Having an online meeting presents loopholes to many hackers as it is easy to access these online meetings and be able to have all information that is being passed. Hackers can tap conversations and even download all the documents being shared on such meetings.
Use of personal devices
Although personal devices are best to use at home, they pose a great danger when working on confidential work. It is not advisable to use personal computers to work on office work that needs confidentiality. Personal computers are accessed by everyone and do not have security features and controls and therefore crucial information can end up in the hands of the wrong person who can use it against the organization or the employee. Sensitive information and data need to be secure from people who may cause danger to its security.
Also, through the use of personal computers, it is easy to access shady websites that can bring malware into the computer, putting all the organization’s information in jeopardy. According to a recent study, phishing attacks have jumped by 40 percent in this time of the corona epidemic due to the increased use of personal computers.
The smartphone is not good at all
Also, the use of smartphones causes danger to the security of important information. Accessing protected data using unprotected devices complicates the security system. Any organization information and data should always be used when there is a secure system that will make sure no intruder can be able to have unauthorized access.
Precautions to take
When working from one should be careful with software that is installed in unsecured computers. It easy for hackers to use unsecured software to hack into the computer at home. Secondly, when a computer starts to slow down, it is important to check if it is secure. Strange pop-ups ads should not be clicked at all; hackers use this to install malware to a computer for them to have unauthorized access.
Finally, another sign that things may be getting out of hands, is the loss of control of either computer’s mouse, keyboard, or any other peripheral devices. If that happens one can put off the laptop before things get out of hands.
Tags: hackersMayur Relesecurity measuresunauthorized access