Alongside the flexibility and employee productivity gains of remote and hybrid workplace options come significant cybersecurity obstacles. If your organization decides a remote or hybrid stance is the best choice, be prepared for an operational gauntlet as you strive to protect your people, equipment, and data. Remote security best practices range from mobile device security to secure communication tools, and threat detection for remote workers to secure file sharing. Wrapped around all of that is cybersecurity education and training that is essential for remote employee protection.
In 2022, cloud vendor Workspot researched concerns about remote work, and not surprisingly, 71% of business leaders considered security as their top challenge, followed by ensuring compliance with new security controls and supporting remote workers with technology resources. To resolve distributed workforce security issues, organizations turn to managed IT services providers (MSPs). Those experts are not only experienced with remote support but the specific challenges of security in hybrid environments.
It won’t surprise anyone that having employees working in the field or even from their homes creates cybersecurity risk. Not only does a dispersed workforce widen the attack surface by expanding the number of endpoints, devices, and applications needed, the very nature of a remote or hybrid workforce makes it more difficult to monitor and manage. Some considerations of remote workforce cybersecurity:
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One of the first steps to creating a more secure environment while supporting hybrid or remote employees means tackling policies and procedures for your team. Policies are fundamental to building a culture of cybersecurity in a remote team, particularly when your organization allows BYOD or has a high number of workers who travel or work from home. Policies to consider: Acceptable Use, BYOD, Data Management/Data Classification, Remote Access, Remote Work Security, and detailed Access Control and Password Management policies.
[Learn what these policies entail and tips on writing them]
In terms of technology, your organization is best served by partnering with an experienced MSP with cybersecurity expertise and a deep understanding of the particular needs of hybrid or remote workforces. Many MSPs are remote themselves, so selecting a partner that has solved these challenges within its own business can be an advantage. Work with your MSP to tackle issues such as:
[Read our blog on VPN vs. SASE]
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Best practices for remote work security can be complex, which is why so many organizations opt to partner with an MSP to create a reliable, dispersed workforce cybersecurity strategy that incorporates technology, policy, and training to secure remote work environments and protect data, assets, and employees from the many cyber threats faced by remote teams.
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Daniel Haurey Jr. is the president and founder of managed IT services provider Exigent Technologies, which he founded in 1997. Under his leadership, the MSP has earned accolades ranging from Channel Futures MSP 501 to being named SonicWall’s 2024 MSP Growth Partner of the Year. Dan is a true entrepreneur, dedicated to growing, investing in, and mentoring small businesses. You can find him on LinkedIn, where he regularly posts about technology, business, leadership, and community.