The disruptions associated with the coronavirus, and the disease that it causes (COVID-19), have undoubtedly shocked lives and markets globally over the last few weeks. Classes are cancelled on all school campuses, global conferences are postponed, and small businesses are closing their doors indefinitely due to this widespread outbreak. Many people are left wondering how they will pay their bills, and for those fortunate enough to be able to work from home while in quarantine, there are a few steps that you should take to make your business practices safer.
It is assumed that there will be a significant increase in malware attacks in the coming weeks while people are working remotely as hackers have a greater chance of infiltration when workers are not so closely contained on their regular work networks. Working from home can increase the likelihood of having a malware attack on your company, and you definitely don’t want to be the employee responsible for something like that, so here are some steps that you should take while in quarantine to make working from home safer.
First things first… How many people have access to your home Wi-Fi network router’s password? Well, if you have children, there are probably more people accessing that router than you think. It’s a good idea to reset your Wi-Fi router’s password so that you can know and control who is on your home Wi-Fi network while you’re working from home.
Not only should you reset your Wi-Fi router’s password, but you should also make it even harder for hackers to find where you’re working from by using a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, conceals your IP address by spoofing a fake IP address. Basically, a VPN creates a fake IP address in a different location. On top of that, most VPNs have the ability to encrypt data that is being transferred over the internet.
Next, do all of your devices have some sort of anti-virus software? They should. These are programs designed to scan the device for malware and viruses that are targeted towards your device. This type of beneficial software should also be up to date, so enable automatic security updates so that you don’t have to do any extra work to ensure the security of your devices while you’re working from home.
Additionally, when you’re in your office at work, it’s unlikely that you need to worry about backing up your data. However, when you’re at home, that’s a different story. Make sure that you upload your work to an additional place to prevent data loss, especially with the increased possibility of harmful ransomware.
Hackers are already using the guise of the coronavirus to attempt to infiltrate networks. Stay vigilant while working from home to limit the exposure. Nothing is foolproof, but don’t be the fool of your company by not taking extra precautions to protect yourself in these uncertain times.
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