Nowadays, numerous individuals have regularly engaged in professional tasks from the
comfort of their home offices, local coffee establishments, or even the confines of hotel
rooms. This significant shift in work culture can be attributed to the pervasive
accessibility of the internet, harmoniously intertwined with the remarkable velocity and
efficiency exhibited by modern laptops, which collectively have immensely facilitated
remote work.
In numerous past research and studies, remote work has been identified as an
increasingly popular and beneficial option for individuals and organizations. Several
noteworthy findings include:
● A significant 75% of remote workers reported experiencing increased productivity
while working from home as opposed to working from their usual workstations,
according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.
● Experts predict that by 2028, an impressive 73% of departments will incorporate
remote workers into their workforce, as stated by Upwork.
● Further corroborating this trend is the fact that a whopping 74% of companies
have already expressed plans to shift some of their employees to remote working
permanently, according to a study conducted by GSartner.
Top Ways to Securing Remote Access
Encrypt your data
With the correct encryption key, encryption scrambles data into unreadable nonsense,
making it easier to decipher
An encrypted file cannot be deciphered without the correct password, limiting
unauthorized access to your private information. The use of encryption makes sure that
only you can view your data.
Desktop Sharing
A remote computer can connect to the host computer from a secondary location outside
the office using remote PC access techniques like desktop sharing. With this
configuration, the operator can use the host computer's local files as they were in the
office.
An employee can use a portable device as a display to access data on their work
computer by logging into third-party programs.
Although direct access has advantages, this type of software may put the company's
internal network in danger because it adds another entry point for outside threats to the
local area network.
To reduce risk, the company must encrypt not only its firewalls and communications but
also its employees' computers, depending on the size of your company, and you might
find this alternative prohibitively expensive.
SSL certificate
If you run a portal where employees communicate with one another by transferring data,
you are required to buy & install an SSL certificate on the website.
However, many organizations believe purchasing SSL certificates can be expensive,
especially for small businesses. The truth is affordable or cheap SSL certificate options
offer the same level of security as premium certificates.
SSL certificates come with premium features, perfect for small businesses and
startups wanting to secure remote access connections without breaking the bank.
Trusted certificate authorities issue these certificates and use the same encryption
standards as premium SSL certificates. The SSL certificate establishes encrypted
sessions between employees, protecting against malicious attacks. The encrypted data
becomes indecipherable to unauthorized parties, keeping sensitive company
information out of the hands of cybercriminals.
Random Password Generator
In addition to storing passwords in an encrypted database, password management
software/tools can also generate and retrieve complicated, random password
combinations. With this ability, companies can completely cut down on using similar or
similar passwords.
The consequences of using similar passwords are extensive. For example, if a
malicious party gets their hands on your username as well as password they could use
your credentials to connect to other web apps or properties. Since we have limited
memory, all human beings frequently reuse passwords (using the same passwords
multiple times or using similar passwords for multiple accounts), with or without minor
modifications. By using secure passwords only known to you, you can prevent this from
happening and the subsequent rabbit hole of consequences.
Require Multi-Factor Authentication
According to Verizon's Data Breach Investigation Report findings, 76 percent of network
intrusions result from weak or stolen credentials.
To ensure the highest level of protection and establish an auditable record, it is
imperative to implement a stringent requirement for unique credentials and at least two-
factor authentication for anyone accessing your network. By mandating these security
measures, you significantly increase hackers' difficulty in successfully exploiting stolen
vendor credentials.
Program for Training and Awareness of Employee Cybersecurity
Incidents involving insider threats and effective assaults against businesses continue to
rise. Over 2.8 billion records were stolen from US businesses in 2018, an increase of
11% from 2017.
According to the survey, the average cost of an insider threat occurrence is $11.45
million, and $13.1 billion has been spent globally. Customer information, intellectual
property, financial information, and trade secrets are the most typical categories of data
loss. The survey also discovered that most insider threats originate from individuals who
know the organization.
The report's main finding is that many companies need more staff cybersecurity
awareness and training programs. With these systems, staff members can quickly
identify suspicious activity and know how to defend against cyberattacks.
Conclusion
In this article, we have covered the best practices for protecting the gateway against
unauthorized remote access, stressing the need to take such precautions. Nowadays,
security is an important factor and remote employees should be educated about their
access to company’s network, portal, server, etc.