Some rules for a safe home office

The concept of home office has invariably been with us for several months now, and there is little indication that this is about to change. And if so, it is worth touching on its further aspects. There is still too little talk about the safety of remote work. What is the reason for this? Perhaps from ignorance. Therefore, we should be aware of the dangers that await us online while performing our duties, and know how to protect ourselves from them.

During home office we process a lot of company data, which should be very well guarded. Here are some rules to help you keep them safe.

First: the company’s equipment

This is a principle that seems obvious, but it is not always so. In the first place, the company should provide employees with equipment for work that meets all standards. In larger companies, the IT department takes care of its configuration and remotely helps in case of problems. However, this does not mean that smaller businesses are doomed to greater difficulties. It is enough to keep an eye on operating system updates or antivirus protection. Also, in situations when, for example, a laptop crashes, remember to check company documents or mail on another device provided by the employer. This could be a cell phone, for example. After all, using private equipment can be risky, especially if it does not have adequate protection.

Second: specific rules

A documented security policy is another element that improves the operations of the entire team. The principles and objectives in it should be clear and well thought out, so that the company’s data is protected to the maximum and everyone knows how to distribute it. The document should be written in an understandable way and should be accessible to all employees at all times. This will ensure that everyone is clear on how to proceed in the event of data leakage, loss or unauthorized access. A scenario prepared in advance allows you to learn the procedures for dealing with such situations.

Third: it’s better not to take risks

What complements a company’s consistent security policy are VPN servers. It is worth knowing what they are and what can be achieved with them.

Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a service that gives you private access to the Internet by routing your connection through a server and thus hiding your online activities. Data encryption makes it safe to connect to a particular site, and the site owner will not know our information, which would be shared using an unencrypted channel.

It is worth remembering that using the Internet without additional security measures involves considerable risk. Many sites collect information not only about our location, activity, but also about purchases we make. With such knowledge, we should think about protecting the data we process while at home office. After all, a network that is not properly guarded is an open door for hackers.

Security and anonymity – so these are the main features that a VPN gives us. We gain a hidden location and IP address, as well as the inability of unwanted people to check our browser history.

In addition, today you no longer need to fear that implementing the solution will prove to be time-consuming. It’s really easy, especially if you use the services of professionals.

At ITH, the implementation of the VPN server service is on the provider’s side, it is up to us to ensure that employees have remote access to the company’s network. A router or firewall with VPN server functionality should be installed in the office, and then the company’s resources can already be made available to employees. You will gain a secure and encrypted connection to the company’s internal network. All in such a way that the use of the solution is convenient.

Fourth: hosting resources

The popularity of the cloud is steadily growing. Today, many companies are not only tying their future to cloud technologies, but also planning a plan to migrate to it and the activities in which they will use it.

At a time of widespread home office, the cloud is becoming even more important. After all, employees need to be able to see company data and be able to edit it freely. It should also be taken into account that many people will be connecting from different locations and at the same time, so the solution must be efficient.

With modern hosting, enterprise resources are stored in the cloud as if they were on an office server. This is thanks to a dedicated data transmission link between the office and the ITH public cloud.

Today, more and more entrepreneurs are touting the fact that such data hosting gives them better availability of resources, their good protection and – importantly during the impending crisis – the option of greater control over expenses and flexibility. It should be emphasized, however, that it is adequate data security that will be most significant during the continuation of the remote working model in many companies.

There is no escaping the subject of the dangers that may come our way when working with a remote team. Let’s take care of security in advance by keeping the basics in place. This is, first of all, the company’s hardware and the creation of its own security policy. Let’s also take advantage of modern advances, such as a VPN server or professional hosting of company resources. This way our company’s operations during home office will be more secure.