With the increasing spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), working from home has been essential to businesses looking to guarantee their employees and sustain business operations. Global leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Amazon have all implemented telecommuting tools for their employees to remain productive; Resilient IT can help your business implement the same tools during these trying times.
Avoiding the risk of the Coronavirus, however, also introduces new risks involving cybersecurity. In the workplace security systems guarantee safety, but when work is done remotely many of those systems do not apply. While protecting remote workers is not a difficult task thanks to VPNs, it is still necessary that companies take all precautions necessary for their employees to work from wherever they feel most comfortable during these trying times.
VPN Guidance from CISA
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have recommended that all telecommunication options require a VPN when linking employees to their organization’s network. CISA guidelines, which are recommended to be followed when considering remote work, are as follows:
- Update all company VPNs, network infrastructure devices and devices being used to remote into work environments with the latest software patches and security configurations.
- Alert employees to watch out for an expected increase in phishing attempts
- Ensure company IT security personnel are prepared to ramp up the following remote access cybersecurity tasks: log review, attack detection and incident response and recovery.
- Implement MFA on all VPN connections to increase security. If MFA is not implemented, require teleworkers to use strong passwords.
- Ensure IT security personnel test VPN limitations to prepare for mass usage and, if possible, implement modifications—such as rate limiting—to prioritize users that will require higher bandwidths.
- Contact the CISA to report incidents, phishing, malware, and other cybersecurity concerns.
Schedule a call with a Resilient IT technician to learn more about how you can secure your remote workers during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
