Working remotely can offer many benefits, including a better work-life balance and reduced travel costs, a significant advantage during the current cost-of-living crisis. Despite its many perks, remote working can put the security of an organisation at risk. In fact, more than half of firms believe remote working has left them open to cyber-attacks, according to research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and networking hardware company Cisco. To help keep your data safe, consider the following tips when working remotely:

• Utilise the Virtual Private Network (VPN). If you have access to a VPN, make sure you connect to it each day. It’s a secure network line that will enable access to local servers and shared folders while keeping data protected.
• Keep software up to date. For proper security, keep anti-virus and other preventive software up to date. If an IT team installs updates on your behalf, quickly follow any additional instructions they send.
• Create strong passwords. Create passwords that are at least eight characters long and use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters. Passwords should be easy to remember but difficult to guess. Consider following the National Cyber Security Centre’s three random word technique.
• Keep devices secure. Stolen devices are a common cause of business security issues. Never leave your devices unattended when in public. Even when at home, lock or log off from your computer when leaving your desk to ensure family members can’t access sensitive information.
• Avoid removable storage devices. USB drives often contain sensitive information and can easily be misplaced. Instead, opt for corporate storage or collaboration tools when transferring or storing files, such as cloud servers.

Watch out for phishing scams. Cyber-criminals often send out ‘phishing’ emails designed to trick users into clicking a bad link. If you’re ever suspicious about a link, don’t click on it.

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