You’re working from home, now what? As more people are working from home these days, security issues with working remotely are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. How can you tell if network issues are due to being compromised vs technology hiccups?
As people break from routines and start using new technology, it can be hard to keep things in line. Security issues with working remotely can be averted with good support and communication with your team. It’s critical not just to continuing service to your customers and clients in challenging times but to keep your business operating properly and smoothly.
As more work from home office jockeys are trading lunch breaks for fishing breaks, cybercriminals are phishing too. Check out this blog post about how to make your network a no phishing zone. Security issues with working remotely bring new challenges that we will address here. Keep in mind that Phishing attacks aren’t going away because of the virus. If anything, they’ll increase since cybercriminals love to exploit people in times like this. Make sure your team knows what to look for as well as what to do in the event of a phishing attack.
Things to look for include emails from unknown recipients with links or attachments, requests to make wire or financial transfers, tracking numbers from UPS or FedEx – especially right now given that this is how most people are shopping during this time – odd phrasing or misspellings.
You also want to check the sender to make sure it’s not a spoof email. A way to do this is simply to hover over the from address which will show you if the person is who they say they are. Check out our blog that goes into more detail about email scams and gift cards. Another way hackers are exploiting this is via charities or websites claiming to be for the public good that are malicious sites which could download malware onto your computer, or steal passwords. These scams may claim to have a ‘cure’ for the virus, offer a financial reward, or by encouraging you to donate.
Like many phishing scams, these emails are preying on real-world concerns to try and trick people into doing the wrong thing.
- If this is your home PC running your AV solution, open your antivirus (AV) software and run a full scan. Follow any instructions given.
- If you’ve been tricked into providing your password, you should change your passwords on all your other accounts immediately.
- If you’re using a work device, contact your IT department and let them know.
The sooner an issue is identified, the more effective we or your IT team can be in resolving it.
I’d like to take a moment to outline a few ways ThrottleNet can assist you in alleviating security issues with working remotely. For those organizations that require secure remote access, we’ve introduced Everfuel Secure Remote Access. This solution is only $9.95 per user/per month plus a one-time setup and training fee of $10. There’s no commitment and you can cancel anytime. Take a deeper dive into Everfuel today. Of course, for those of you on one of our Managed Network plans, most of what we’ve discussed is covered assuming you’ve kept your network current and have been heeding the advice of your vCIO.
For those that aren’t familiar, Managed Network is where ThrottleNet serves as your full time IT department by providing maintenance, monitoring, and management of your network in addition to a fully staffed help desk and dedicated team of IT professionals. If managed services aren’t for you, we’d recommend our workstation remote maintenance, monitoring, and AV combo as well as our server safeguard. This ensures your machines are protected in addition to sending alerts in the event of an issue. Finally, we offer a variety of hosting solutions via Microsoft including Office365 and Azure Cloud Hosting.
These solutions – when working in concert – allow you to work from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Couple this with a hosted VOIP phone system such as Ring Central and you should be good to go if this ever happens again. If you need anything or are interested in learning more about our services, contact us today or give us a call at 866-829-5557
