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Keeping your business safe while working from home is a relatively new challenge for many business owners. Nearly four in ten UK businesses have identified cyber-attacks in 2022, so it’s important to make sure yours won’t be included in the statistics.
In the following guide, we’ve outlined a few of the most reliable tips and tricks to help maintain the vital integrity and security of your company while your employees work away from the office.
How to protect your business remotely?
1. Encrypt data
Whether it’s files shared online through the Cloud, USBs taken home from the office, or confidential team chats, encrypting files is one way to add an extra layer of protection.
Even though USBs make it easy to transfer data between devices, it’s still easy to make a critical mistake when it comes to storing files safely. We’d always recommend encrypting files, even if they don’t contain anything you might consider sensitive data.
2. Master GDPR training
GDPR training is crucial for employers to educate and thoroughly train their employees on current GDPR legislation. It relates directly to the Data Protection Act and keeping employees up to date on the latest processes will help to keep your company safe.
From minimising the risk of a data breach and helping to identify or halt one quickly to protecting vulnerable individuals, these legalities still apply when your team are working as remote worker from home.
3. Encourage open communication
Data breaches and mistakes happen when communication breaks down, so it’s critical to encourage your employees to regularly keep in touch.
In turn, you’ll be able to foster a positive work environment in which your colleagues feel safe speaking up if they see anything concerning or potentially damaging to the business.
4. Keep work-specific devices
Keeping work-related communications, documents, and information away from your personal devices reduces the risk of accidentally exposing confidential company data.
You can’t stop your colleagues from logging into their Netflix account on a work laptop if they want to, but it’s a good idea to implement sensible policies regarding emails and protected work files.
Leaking sensitive information could jeopardise not only your job but also the business as a wider entity, so it’s absolutely crucial to keep it securely on the intended device.
5. Offer tech training
Lastly, you can’t assume that your entire team will feel comfortable or confident with using technology while they’re working from home. Even if you’ve provided them with equipment, some individuals might need you to show them how to set it up properly.
As a team, you’ll benefit from running specific online training sessions with slides for colleagues to refer to. Once these remote devices are installed and running effectively, your staff members will also be less likely to accidentally breach data protection laws.
Staying safe is essential, but you’ll need to work with your team to achieve the best results.
