Remote work is exploding all over the world. The pandemic sent so many people to scramble to set up home offices, and many of those temporary remote workers have become permanent. Many organizations realized it saved them money to have a remote workforce, while others simply want to keep their workforce happy and are willing to accommodate a remote or hybrid work situation. Regardless of the why, this brings up the matter of remote workforce security.

Remote workers operate in a quite different environment than on-site employees, and this creates different risks and security challenges. Companies need to adapt and change their security protocols to effectively secure their remote workforce. With remote work, companies may need to create additional security policies and make modifications to existing ones.

Here are some tips to consider when creating remote workforce security policies:

  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): With being able to now use personal devices for remote work, there becomes a need to define BYOD policies outlining the requirements that these personal devices must meet before given access to the corporate network.
  • Endpoint Security: Because of the BYOD situation, the endpoint is the new first line of defense against cyberthreats. Your policy should include security requirements for what devices employees are permitted to use and what software your company needs to manage on these devices to keep them secure.
  • Acceptable Usage Agreement: An acceptable usage policy defines which activities are permitted on corporate devices. Limiting personal activities on corporate devices can help minimize risk of infecting that device.
  • Data Security: This policy should outline rules for how sensitive corporate data can be accessed and managed, as well as communicated. It should also include rules around disallowing the use of personal cloud storage for company data.
  • Incident Response: This needs to address the risk of off-site security incidents, as opposed to how you would address infected devices and security personnel on-site.

Remote work does lead to employee satisfaction and retention efforts; however, it also leads to increased security risks. Need help ensuring your business has an effective remote workforce security policy in place? Let 2W Tech help! 2W Tech can work with your business to provide a complete suite of security solutions designed to address the unique security challenges of remote work. Call us today to get started.

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