In recent years, new technology solutions and the need to work flexibly have been shaping the way enterprise employees are now working. The nine-to-five office space was already in decline, but this has been accelerated by the pandemic, thus it has never been more critical for staff members to perform their essential functions off site. Companies that already had technology in place to allow remote working have proved the most successful in remaining resilient and continuing to operate effectively under the ever-evolving restrictions.
The pandemic has seen surges in cybercriminal activity too, with hackers quick to take advantage of companies adapting to this new way of working. Personal and private data is a popular commodity for these threat operators, and they have swooped in on several different occasions to hit firms that left systems and sensitive information unprotected. The following are some important measures companies must consider when they are seeking to protect the private information they use and store on customers, staff and suppliers.
Handling documents securely
Any company documents printed at home, or those that must be disposed of, are a serious risk to enterprise security. Companies handling confidential or personal information are responsible for its care and must be able to prove it has been destroyed. Homes are typically unprepared for dealing with the disposal of sensitive printed matter and are rarely equipped with shredders and other official disposal methods. It is a wise move of any enterprise with staff working remotely to withhold the right to print company contents to mitigate any potential risks.
Forbid the use of personal email, chat platforms and text messaging
Staff should never be allowed to use their personal email accounts, chat applications or their smart phone’s text facility for communicating sensitive data. Company systems will have a far higher level of security and can ensure data is never seen or shared by unauthorised personnel.
Employ a secure server and issue company devices
When staff operate off site, establishing a secure server is critical. It can effectively ensure stored data is never deleted, accessed, shared, or altered without the correct authorisation. Staff must never be allowed to locally save any private or confidential material on their personal machines to make sure companies are never in breach of data protection regulations. When accessing a server remotely from home, staff must be urged to sign in and out correctly and diligently, with no passwords left vulnerable.
Personnel operating from home should use company devices whenever possible rather than personal equipment as these pose a greater risk to enterprise data security. Particularly if devices are shared with non-enterprise personnel, like family members.
Ensuring enterprise data stays safe
Our secure platform from Galaxkey offers an ideal environment for staff to share and work with sensitive data from home. Featuring a powerful three-layer encryption, our system can ensure private information remains indecipherable to cybercriminals and is simple to use. No passwords are ever stored on our system and users can take advantage of both secure email and document transfer. Contact us today for an online demonstration.
