As businesses transition to work from home situations during the Coronavirus, they have to contend with an old, but strong challenge: hackers. Hackers have been quick to take advantage of the pandemic. They are preying upon people’s concerns such as sending phishing emails with supposed information about the pandemic or claiming to offer a VPN, something many employees now need to conduct work.
The most important thing you can do to protect your employees from hacking is to implement private communications, strong security practices and using secure messaging. It’s important to opt for tools that are simple to use, can reach people on multiple devices and prevent unauthorized users from accessing. Employees should be able to easily reach the right people and share sensitive information through private communication all without having to worry. Here are 5 ways that you can do that.
1. Make sure that employees practice security hygiene
Many employees are moving from working under professionally managed corporate networks to home Wi-Fi setups. Provide employees with guidance on security hygiene so that they can ensure their Wi-Fi is secure, that anti-virus and security software is up-to-date, and that all important files are backed up regularly. Employees should also practice basic security hygiene by making sure their passwords are strong and, where possible, use multi-factor authentication.
2. Talk to employees about suspicious links
Make sure that employees are aware of the phishing attempts that are going on and to think twice before clicking on any link. For any email they receive, they should always check the sender’s email to see if it comes from a reputable source. Never click on a link that comes from an unknown source. In fact, if you have any suspicion at all, it is always better not to click on any link. One way to help employees avoid falling for phishing schemes is to only send certain information over private communication like secure messaging—so that employees know if it came over email, it’s not legit.
3. Have procedures in place for verifying employees’ identities
The rise in remote work could mean hackers might use social engineering, or deception, to try to trick people into giving up sensitive information. This could involve something like calling into one department and pretending to be another department of an organization or calling IT staff and pretending to have remote access problems, tricking the staff into giving them access. Make sure to have procedures in place for verifying employees identities—like using a secure, alternative network for certain kinds of communications that only people within the organization can access.
4. Only share sensitive information over secure and private channels
With everyone working from home, sensitive information—whether it’s documents, images, or sensitive conversations—are going to be constantly be on the move. Make sure you only share sensitive information over secure and private channels. Encryption is step one but is not enough, make sure you opt for a channel that protects the information from being shared without authorization or compromised in other ways. Secure messaging automatically protects any private communications that you share, making it easy to keep business moving.
5. Keep communications flowing
During times like these, employees may need extra support and guidance. They will also need easy access to IT support. Have a system in place that makes it easy for employees to communicate with managers and other departments and make sure that everyone is accessible. That way, if an employee is concerned about a suspicious email or unclear about procedures for security, they can easily reach out to the right person and get the help they need. Opt for an easy-to-use channel that offers secure, private messaging, so that every department can quickly get on board.
Vaporstream makes it easy for employees to share sensitive information over secure messaging. Our private communication platform means that employees can reach managers, IT and others quickly, making collaboration easy while protecting sensitive information. To learn more, request a demo.