Working remotely can be great. It’s comfortable, flexible, and efficient. But is it secure? Not entirely! Sure, it’s physically safe. You’re in your own home, skipping the dangers of rush-hour traffic and drive-through diets. 

However, remote work security is a major concern for many employees who often have to send sensitive materials over the internet all day, every day. The importance of digital safety in remote work should not be overlooked, whether you’re the employer or the employee. 

As such, here are 14 best practices to consider when shoring up your remote work security.

‍Cyber Security Risks of Remote Work

For employers, cyber security risks are amplified tenfold by the prevalence of remote work. It’s the wild, wild west out there when it comes to security because you never truly know what precautions remote workers are taking. 

On the flip side, remote workers have to deal with being frequent targets of cyber attacks. After all, your individual security probably isn’t as robust as your employer’s, and you’re accounting for laptops, smartphones, wifi passwords, and more. It’s a lot to consider! Sadly, if remote work security isn’t seriously considered, everyone is at risk.

Here are some common security weaknesses when remote work is involved:

• Weak or repeated passwords
• Unsecured devices
• Lack of backup systems
• Phishing scams
• Use of public wifi
• Malware attacks

By shoring up these weaknesses for the company and the remote employees, you can ensure that team productivity stays at its peak.

Best Practices For Remote Work Security

When you read statistics like “2023 saw a 72% increase in data breaches since 2021, which held the previous all-time record,” remote work security seems next to impossible. But while no network is 100% safe, with a few best practices and cyber security tips, both remote employers and employees can drastically decrease their chances of being victims.

1. Have a Remote Security Policy

If you’re an employer, having a remote security policy in place and making sure that all remote employees are well-versed in that policy is vital. Some things your policy should cover include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Access and network permissions: clearly outline who can access what and when.
• Security measures to know: outline VPN usage, installed firewalls, and encryption requirements.
• Policies and procedures: dictate password policies, software update requirements, and how to report lost or stolen items.
• Device guidelines: Create guidelines for using and securing both work and personal devices, and establish which devices will be monitored.
• Policy discipline: outline penalties for policy violations in your remote work environment. 

If you’re a remote employee, make sure that you are well-versed in your company’s remote data security policies and procedures, and that you know how to implement and abide by them on your end.

2. Manage Your Passwords

By now, we should all be intimately familiar with password security, but it’s extra important when working remotely. It’s not only your information you’re dealing with, after all. 

Passwords should always include upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols when permitted. Never, ever, use the same password for different log-ins. Ideally, you should use a reputable password generator like NordPass or Strong Password Generator for every single password.

Password protection is one of the easiest computer security tips to enact, especially if you use a password manager like NordPass or iPassword that can create, secure, and share unique passwords across most platforms you might use in your day-to-day.

3. Use VPNs

A virtual private network, or VPN, is a direct and secure connection to another computer network. VPNs work similarly to firewalls, preventing anyone but approved personnel from accessing the network. 

They help secure remote workers by offering the same cybersecurity at home as they’d have if they were on-site using the company network. You can download a VPN app from your preferred app store for just a few bucks a month. Make sure to follow your company guidelines for downloading apps before getting started, though.

4. Update Your Software and Devices

It feels like we’re constantly being inundated with software updates, but there’s a reason you should usually install them immediately. In addition to (usually) improving your device in some way, regular updates and patches often address security issues in the software. When in doubt about whether to install an update, contact your company’s IT department, although many companies will push out update instructions prior to the update being released.

5. Don’t Work on Public Networks

Unsecured public networks are a favorite target for hackers because they’re teeming with easy-to-access email accounts and passwords. If you just work from the local coffee shop, bring your own secure hotspot. Other tips for working in public:

• Use your VPN for the best security
• Make sure your screen is obscured from looky-loos
• Never, ever, click “Show Password” when working in public!

6. Use Trusted and Secure Services

We all use online or cloud-based services that make our jobs easier. Services like Adobe products, Google Docs, Microsoft 365, and dozens more collaboration tools are vital to many remote jobs, so make sure that you know which services make security a priority. 

If using VoiceHub for your secure transcription needs, for instance, you can rest assured that your data is locked down. Rev maintains compliance with a number of both internationally recognized and industry-specific security and privacy standards, including:

• SOC 2 Type II auditing
• General Data Protection Regulations
• PCI compliance for payment processing

7. Secure Your Video Meetings

The rise in remote work has led to a rise in remote meeting security breaches. To enhance the security of your online meetings and mitigate cyber security risks:

• Use paid-only accounts that often offer better security 
• Lock the meeting after it starts
• Create unique IDs and passwords for every meeting
• Utilize the waiting room feature, if offered by the service
• Prevent screen-sharing by anyone but the host or co-hosts

8. Don’t Click on Suspicious Emails or Texts

It should go without saying that you should not open weird or suspicious emails, but phishing scams have gotten more sophisticated and harder to spot, often perfectly replicating trusted brands, services, and personal contacts. The best defense against phishing scams is awareness, so a thorough company security team should push out notifications if there are prominent scams circulating. When in doubt, don’t click it!

9. Work on a Work Device

Your company should have a policy about sanctioned work devices, but a good rule to live by is to keep your work and personal use separate. 

In short, if you’re working on a work device, don’t surf the net for personal reasons, and certainly don’t do any online shopping. Adding your credit card information for any reason is just opening you up to attacks, and while they’re there, who knows what else they might look for? The less personal information on your device, the safer all your information will be.

10. Guard Your Devices

Don’t ever leave your phone, tablet, or laptop unattended, even for a few seconds. It’s so much easier to scoop up a device than it is to hack them, so never leave them exposed to theft. That includes at the airport or on your table while you’re working at a coffee shop. Not only will you lose your devices; you’ll expose all the information on them.

11. Use Multifactor Authentication

It can certainly be annoying to have to input a code that’s been sent to your phone every time you log into your work email, but multifactor authentication is an effective means of preventing hackers from accessing accounts. If it’s offered by the service you’re logging into for a work task, we strongly recommend using it.

12. Encrypt Your Email

Email encryption prevents anyone but the intended receiver from reading or viewing the contents of an email. If the email is hacked or accidentally sent to the wrong person, encryption protects it because only those with the decryption key can view the contents. Most email services offer an email encryption option for free.

13. Know How to Contact Remote IT Security

If you’re a remote worker, have your company’s security or IT department on speed dial, or at least know how to contact them quickly if you suspect you’ve been hacked or you’ve clicked on a suspicious link by mistake. The quicker you can discover if you have a problem, the quicker you can begin solving the problem.

14. Keep Your Router Updated

We’ve discussed keeping your devices updated with the latest software and patches, but we need to stress that these updates shouldn’t be limited to phones, tablets, and laptops. Your router is as vital to your cybersecurity, if not more so, than your other devices. Keeping your router’s firmware updated can prevent security breaches that can impact every device on your home or office network.

Whereas most devices these days tell you when there’s an update available, your router might need some proactive TLC. 

To see if there are any updates available, you need to find out your router’s model number, which is usually printed on the back or the bottom of the router. Then, you can go online and search “update router firmware” with the model number. You should be able to easily find step-by-step instructions from the manufacturer after that. Bookmark the page and check in regularly!

Is It Possible To Be 100% Secure While Working Remotely?

No, it’s not possible to be 100% secure while working remotely, but by following our cybersecurity tips for employees and employers, you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be. 

Every workplace has security best practices, from film and TV set security to law firm cybersecurity, and remote work is no different. Being a secure remote worker or securing your remote workforce should not be taken lightly!

What About In-Office Security?

In-office IT security and remote IT security are similar in that there is always information traveling wirelessly, and that information needs to be secure. The broad strokes of that security are the same onsite or via remote work: You protect your passwords, only conduct work business on work devices, keep all devices updated, and only use trusted and secure outside services (like VoiceHub). 

The difference between in-office security and remote work security is that it’s theoretically easier to secure the office because you have more control over what workers do. You can disallow the use of personal devices on company property, for instance. (Extreme, we know!) It’s also easier to secure the office because hackers and phishers tend to find it easier to attack remote workers, as opposed to breaching a large company’s office security.

If you’re an in-office worker or a remote worker who has to head to the job site once in a while, here are some other ways you can keep yourself and others secure:

• Don’t share your ID badge for any reason
• Don’t share USB drives and never plug in a USB drive that isn’t yours
• Make sure unknown people aren’t looking at your screen when you’re working with sensitive information
• Guard your stuff! You never know when thieves are patrolling, even at the office

Rev VoiceHub Is Safe and Reliable

The importance of digital safety in remote work is always going to be a concern, because as long as there’s an internet, remote work will never be 100% safe. But by following a few personal best practices and abiding by your company’s remote work security policies, you’ll be as safe as possible. VoiceHub will help you by providing the safest possible exchange of information when you need industry-leading meeting transcription services.

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