Introduction
Working remotely is the new normal. Most of the workforces across the geographies have adopted flexible Work from home job culture. It has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as this sudden shift in the workplace setting, from offices to homes, resulted in cost reduction and increased employee productivity. This flexibility helped professionals to use the devices and networks of their choice, availability, and convenience. The workforce became aware that this is the new way of working. What they were not aware of was the fragile and vulnerable nature of the data, network, and all the digital assets!
Technology is strong yet vulnerable to cybercrimes such as phishing attacks, data breaches, identity theft, etc. Easy access to sensitive data can lead to hazardous security incidents. However, cyber security professionals are giving cybercriminals a hard time with effective security policies, tools, and processes. But a business comprises a lot of other verticals, and to those verticals, the risks persist MORE THAN EVER as Remote Work becomes popular.
Let’s have a look at the top nine often underestimated risks to vital corporate digital assets as the majority of the workforce operates remotely
Table of Contents
Inadequate Email Security
Work emails are often used by hackers and cybercriminals as a source for phishing attacks. They could send malicious links. A malicious link is often created to promote frauds, malware, and spam. Such malware can take control of your devices. Clicking on such infected URL links results in compromising office system credentials and other strictly private data. Remote workers should be well-equipped with basic knowledge of email security to protect all essential and confidential conversations.
Unsafe Corporate File Transfers on Unknown/Public Networks
While employees travel to cities via trains or airplanes, they sometimes have to access the public networks to get things done, if urgent. Or sometimes, an employee might access work email to share a file while seated in a cafe via cafe wi-fi. Also, sometimes teams work from different locations, and for team collaboration, employees have to access their emails, and office-related softwares from personal devices and random public networks. Thus, random public networks get access to corporate sensitive data, which was otherwise not meant for such a purpose! To be honest, many real-life incidents can’t be monitored in real-time. If employees are not careful, sensitive data exposure can’t be avoided. Efficient and secure network encryption policies can help sort this issue.
Less Emphasis on Data-Encryption
Historians still struggle to decipher Indus Valley Script. We can see the script from our bare eyes, but we can’t read it. Data encryption behaves similarly.
Data encryption offers an additional layer of security to the communications between servers and applications. It makes sure that even if an unauthorized person tries to access the data, they will not be able to read it.
Organizations, especially SMBs, are not that serious about data encryption to date. While technology has provided us with such an ability, still most organizations take it lightly. This has the potential to safeguard the company’s overall database. But, unfortunately, this risk is often overlooked. Not to mention, the risks include theft, identity incidents, ransomware cyberattacks, and many more.
Compromised PII Privacy
Data privacy and protection top the lists of concerns that organizations face as of today. Many times, users might send out or upload PII (Personally Identifiable Information) which can be misused by cybercriminals to gain access to critical systems that include bank details, credit card details, etc.
Improper Asset Management and Security
Work from home was welcomed by our employees’ families worldwide. But it brought a new array of risks to the corporate digital assets management software. Company’s strictly confidential data, when ill-monitored, could get exposed to young children and other family members, relatives, etc. Young children can unknowingly access devices and sometimes end up deleting essential data. This has happened to many people and is real!
“Keep your family close but your devices closer!” should be the piece of advice that the organizations should impart to their employees working remotely.
BYO Devices Vulnerability
In present situations, using personal devices for work has been common. Employees like to use their own devices over personal networks. Sometimes, they frequently switch between networks as they sometimes work from cafes, hotels, or sometimes from any place that they wish. They simply underestimate the risk they pose in terms of virtual safety and security.
Definitely Bring Your Own Devices or BYO devices have gained popularity, but they can lead to data breaches if not operated in a secure environment. Keeping all these factors in mind, organizations across the geographies should implement strict BYOD policies and regulations. If the company does not set strict BYOD policies, it can lead to damage or loss of essential corporate data. The other vulnerabilities include device loss/theft, lack of employee training, hardware-related problems that require advanced IT skills, malware infiltration, and many more! Several organizations have incurred huge losses due to unmanaged BYOD devices.
Insufficient Remote Work Training to Employees
In offices, IT admins have full access and control on all the devices, network, and related infrastructure. But as the workforce swifts outside the office premises, IT admins have lesser control over employees and devices. If this is a new normal, then the employees should own the responsibility of maintaining the organization’s integrity and security. But unfortunately, this is not the case. Employees sometimes leave their devices unattended, use the same passwords across multiple devices and platforms, use office-issued devices for entertainment purposes, etc. Unattended devices are extremely potential hazards any organization can have as employees work remotely.
The employees should be made aware of the fact that their office-issued devices are not meant for family and entertainment purposes. But the sad truth is, still, the boundaries between work and home are not crystal clear.
Poor Access management controls
Inadequate and poor access controls can expose the companies to a lot of risks. In the office, the IT administrators would have access to all the password-protected systems and devices. But as employees work remotely, they may use the same passwords for two different things, just with an intent to remember both. Passwords are keys to your private zone just as keys to your home. Do not duplicate either! Passwords should be complex and unique. Generally, a passphrase makes a great password.
These days, employees tend to access the devices from different locations, public wi-fi networks, which results in data breaches and compromises. Hackers keep looking out for such loopholes. Therefore strict measures should be taken for securing, managing & monitoring devices that access corporate data.
Device theft
Before the pandemic, almost everyone used to work from the office in a safe and secure environment. Majorly the devices and the employees were under strict surveillance that nobody could take the systems home or anywhere else, without IT administrators’ permission. But, the pandemic changed everything. Organizations were left with no other option other than to let their employees work from home.
Many people started “workations.” Workations means working while on a vacation to your favorite spot or destination. This growing trend has resulted in device thefts. Many people leave their office laptops unattended in hotels, resorts, etc. which eventually poses a massive risk to the company’s overall infrastructure. If an employee’s device is lost or stolen, it could lead to major data breaches.
Closing Lines
In recent years, hacking technology has advanced too, and hackers are always looking out for such incidents. They can hack corporate accounts, emails, and other sensitive pieces of information, which can put employees in trouble too.
To sum up, employees should be well-equipped with and should be made aware of all the essential training before leveraging the perks of working from wherever they wish to! In addition to that, organizations should definitely add an extra level of security by investing in an efficient and modern-day device and data security solutions such as Mobile Device Management software.
An effective MDM software helps the organizations manage devices and endpoints that help in extending a secure remote working environment to their employees.
