Rudy Penner - Director, Risk Management
Increasingly, offices are closing their doors as governments continue to implement measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. Organizations have had to adapt to the changing environment, often allowing employees to work remotely from the comfort of their own home. However, the shift to remote working has the potential to increase the risks of a cyber-attack, as employees are not protected by the same security controls as their usual office environment. When shifting to a remote working set-up, it is important that employees employ the following measures to reduce the risk of a cyber-attack.
Consult Your IT Department
Make sure to notify your IT department that you will be working remotely. There may be policies and procedures that you have to follow before accessing work data away from the office.
Work from a work-issued device when possible
Your organization’s IT department will often have work-issued devices set up with additional security measures that will help keep your data safe. Using a personal computer to access work data increases the risk of your data being stolen or compromised.
Never Use Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi networks pose significant security risks and should be avoided at all costs.
Secure Your Home Router
Ensure that the password on your home router has been changed from the factory default and set encryption to WPA2.
Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN encrypts all of your internet traffic so that it is unreadable to anyone who intercepts it, adding an extra layer of security to your web use.
Use Strong Passwords
Compromised passwords are still one of the leading ways that cybercriminals gain access to sensitive user data. Passwords should be complex, changed frequently and should never be used for multiple accounts.
For more information, please contact either your dedicated Commercial Insurance Advisor, or Mr. Rudy Penner – Director, Risk Management (1-800-665-8990 ext. 6163).
