Hackers aren’t just going after business owners. They are increasingly attacking consumers, as well. In December, the New York Times reported that hackers took control of a family’s home security cameras.
These problems are escalating during the pandemic as more people are working from home. Hackers realize that many people are accessing sensitive company data, which can be an attractive target to them.
This means that people need to be more careful about protecting their data while working from home. They need to implement sensible computer security measures.
Computer Security Measures Are Critical for Home Workers During the Pandemic
Every piece of computing or networking hardware and software installed at work constitutes your company’s IT infrastructure. Considering that you may have a PC or mobile device at home, there’s a good chance that you have your own IT infrastructure as well. You’re probably using quite a bit of this equipment on a daily basis if you work from home.
Unfortunately, many people who telecommute don’t properly secure their local network perimeter. An even greater percentage have found themselves unable to lock down their firm’s internal IT infrastructure since they’ve been unable to get to the office as of late.
If your company is struggling to keep up with basic maintenance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, then there’s a number of things you can do to stay secure even if you can’t get to the office. You might want to start by looking into managed hosting solutions.
Managed IT Hosting Solutions
By working with a third-party hosting service, you can connect all of your firm’s computers and mobile devices without having to worry about whether or not your network perimeter is secure. As long as you’re connected via a secured wireless or Ethernet line, you can trust that a managed solution is safe since third-party operators constantly install updates and check for malware.
A managed private cloud service might be the best solution for most small-to-medium sized companies. Those who’ve worked with public cloud machines in the past will find very little difference in the way that they interact with managed private cloud services. All they need to do is SSH into their new cloud account and start deploying software. The service will more than likely take care of all the security-related issues that they’d normally have to do themselves.
An overwhelming majority of hijacked systems were taken over by people who exploited some bug that could have been patched. These services can make sure that your risk of falling prey to this kind of attack will be rather low.
That being said, a managed private cloud service can only do so much. You’ll want to make sure that your own systems are up-to-date with all of the latest hotfixes. According to a recent article by hosting experts at Liquid Web, “hardware vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown are becoming more common and no hardware is guaranteed to be immune.” That’s a big reason to push for increased virtualization as you work to lock down your own systems.
Properly Securing Local Systems
Those who use a phone or tablet to log into their work accounts might believe that they’re quite safe because relatively few major cyberattacks have impacted them in recent years. Nevertheless, you’ll want to install OS updates from your provider. If your phone has been prompting you to do so, then you should more than likely stop putting this vital task off.
Updating your browser is equally important on both mobile devices as well as desktops and laptops. Many companies deploy all of their apps through a browser-based interface. While this might be convenient, it can be rather dangerous if everyone involved hasn’t updated their browsers.
While this might seem like a lot of work, it’ll become second nature once you get into the habit of installing updates. It can even save you a great deal of time in the future since you won’t have to correct nearly as many network security-related issues.