Remote working is the new norm for businesses and employees, changing how everyone works. It became necessary to curb the effect of covid-19, but skilled workers have started preferring remote work as it allows them to work from anywhere. However, you can effectively manage your remote employees with a mental leap and the right technology.
One thing that most organizations underestimate is cyberattacks. With remote employees, an organization becomes more reliant on using digital networks to share conversations and sensitive documents. Since home networks can often be insecure, you need to implement Zero Trust to keep everyone secure.
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The types of remote employees
There are two remote working options; understanding which suits your company more will help you efficiently manage your employees.
- Hybrid
Employees who work remotely but report to your physical office in person. Depending on the job description, you can call them for one or two days per workweek for meetings or discussions, but they do most of their work offsite. - Fully remote
Employees who are not required to be present in person for meetings or discussions. All of their work is off-site; management can reach them through the mode of communication specified by the organization.
Things you should consider while handing over devices to remote employees
Organizations with hybrid or fully remote staff must implement a robust device management solution. The idea is to provide additional security by pre-configuring devices with the necessary applications and security policies before the IT department issues them to remote employees. Here are some aspects you should follow for device management.
- Security policies
The IT department needs to ensure a high level of security through encrypted drives to ensure device integrity. Additionally, they need to introduce a device password policy in addition to the firewalls and standard anti-virus software. - Applications
Remote employees must install only authorized applications on remote hardware to ensure no third-party applications are installed that could compromise their device integrity. - Software updates
To keep the devices secure, the IT team must implement steps to continuously monitor and remotely send updates to the devices being used by remote employees. - Loss of devices
If any of your devices are lost or stolen, your IT team must be able to remotely wipe the sensitive data to stop external forces from accessing it.
Adopting the Zero Trust Model
A Zero Trust approach applies to all on-site and remote users of your organization. Continuous authorization, authentication, and validation to maintain the network’s security and configuration. The Zero Trust approach uses high-security technologies like multi-factor authentication or identity and access management to verify the user’s identity.
According to Markets and Markets, reliance on the Zero Trust approach is expected to grow at a 17.3% CAGR to reach 51.6 billion USD by 2026. The growing frequency of cyberattacks, targeting endpoints, and cloud apps are among the top contributors to its success.
Core Principles
Zero Trust consists of the follows a set of principles that help secure your network; these are:
- Least Privilege Access
A fundamental concept where users are given a minor level of access they need to fulfill their duties. This reduces the user’s exposure to the sensitive components present in the organizational network. - Identifying users
A zero trust model lets the IT team identify users using the organization’s network, applications, and data. The constant need to authenticate and authorize each access request helps maintain a higher level of security within your organization. - Microsegmentation
Zero trust breaks the security perimeter into smaller zones to ensure separate access for different network parts. It also assists in continuously managing and monitoring data to avail granular access control that eliminates excess privileges assigned to users. ‘ - Advanced preventive techniques
The IT team can use advanced techniques like multi-factor authentication to confirm user identity and maintain network security. The network will ask the user security questions or send text/email messages requiring action before allowing access.
Benefits
As a sturdy strategy, Zero Trust provides organizations with the necessary security and resilience. However, it does provide additional benefits like:
- 360-degree protection from threats
The stringent policies of a Zero trust model help protect your data by stopping external threats and safeguarding your organization from any harmful internal agent. A Verizon report estimates that internal players are involved in an estimated 30% of all data breaches. - Increase in visibility
The trusting no one feature lets the organization’s IT team decide the resources, data, and activity that needs to be added to the security strategy. Since all information and computing sources are secure, every user needs to be strictly authenticated before they are allowed access to any particular resource. - Ideal for a remote workforce
A distributed workforce has introduced new vulnerabilities and a sudden increase in exposure to cyberthreats. Therefore, the Zero Trust approach ensures that a user’s identity is used to secure the perimeter, users, applications, and devices seeking access to reinforce security. - Safeguard sensitive business information
A Zero Trust approach is the only way to prevent significant losses by securing sensitive information and preserving your organization’s brand reputation. The continuous authentication and authorization allow access to only those who can be entrusted with the information.
Conclusion
Organizations have dealt with cyber threats for decades, but the need to build a remote workplace has introduced more internal vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. The zero Trust approach can make it easy to manage remote employees while keeping resources and information secure.
