Working on the go used to only be a reality for a small majority of the workforce. However, thanks to the ripple effects of the lockdowns, it is now extremely common for us to work on the go no matter what industry or seniority level. The ability to work on the go has many advantages such as an improved work-life balance and in some cases better productivity. However, it also has its downsides. Working on the go has opened up the workforce to a range of new privacy threats and learning curves.
Away from the safety and security of your workplace’s network, there are a number of threats lurking around that you need to remain vigilant about when doing your job remotely.
Here are a few things you can do and be aware of when working on the go.
Privacy screens
When we think of hacking, we often think of a faceless shadowy figure on the other side of the world, pulling invisible strings to lock us out of our accounts and steal our data. However, hackers can sometimes be much closer than what you may think – some hackers can be right next to you on your morning commute or at the coffee shop.
When you’re working on the go, it is always important to be mindful that everyone is privy to what you’re working on on your laptop. This is why when you’re working outside of the office, it is always best practice to use a privacy screen to protect the sensitive information you may be working with.
Most modern day business laptops now come with a privacy screen button. A privacy screen is essentially a polarised layer on your laptop screen that when activated, will stop people next to you or behind you from being able to see what you’re working on.
Privacy screens are ideal when working on the go. When working in public, you may be accidentally allowing those around you to view highly sensitive or even confidential information from your work laptop.
Public WiFi
Whether you’re on a business trip or working on the go, you’ll inevitably need access to public wifi in order to complete certain tasks. Public wifi gives you flexibility to work just about anywhere from an airport to a coffee shop. However, this comes with inherent privacy risks.
Firstly, public wifi often does not provide encryption the way that your home or office network does. Working on public wifi that is not encrypted means potentially highly confidential data which you send and receive could be intercepted by cyber criminals lurking on the network – this is called data sniffing.
Similarly, viruses can be easily distributed across public wifi networks. If you so happen to connect to an infected public network, and there’s generally no easy way to know this for certain, cybercriminals can easily download viruses onto your work laptop to steal data, gain access to accounts and even lay dormant waiting to attack.
Public charging ports
Yes, even the humble public USB charging port is also a vehicle for destruction. When you connect a device to a public charging port, you are potentially putting yourself at risk of data theft, viruses and remote hacking.
Though it sounds like something straight out of a James Bond movie, cybercriminals have been known to hack or even replace public USB charging ports to destroy or infect devices being plugged into it.
Public charging ports are a handy amenity for those who work on the go, however, it is important to remain vigilant by using your own charger or using charging ports at reputable spots such as cafes or other establishments.
Home Wifi
Whilst public wifi networks have their inherent privacy risks, so too, does your home wifi network. On your home network, your kids, partner, parents or housemates are all conducting their own internet activities under the same wifi.
This can present a number of security threats to your work laptop. Firstly, if your wifi uses a weak, easy to guess password – your entire network is vulnerable to unauthorised access which can wreak havoc on any devices connected to that network.
Similarly, if a device on your home wifi becomes infected, hackers can use that device network to spread viruses onto other devices.
Ensuring your home wifi has a strong password and is encrypted is a good first step to protecting your company data at home.
Phishing
Whilst you may not think phishing is still a major security concern when working far from the office – the opposite is true.
In fact, working away from the office and your colleagues is arguably more ideal to a hacker.
When working on the go, you may be more susceptible to phishing attacks due to a range of distractions and particularly the inability to get a second opinion from a colleague.
One of the most prevalent and popular workplace phishing attacks involves email spoofing and impersonating high-level executives within your company. If you were to receive such an email whilst in the office, you could simply turn to that person to double-check that they sent you that email and if they didn’t, you can raise concern with your Managed Service Provider’s help desk or your internal IT department. However, out of the workplace, this is not so easily done which could result in being phished.
In fact, a study found that employers reported a 25% increase in phishing attempts and attacks for employees working from home.
3 tips from a Managed Service Provider to prioritise security when working on the go
- Security education
A large majority of security risks stem from human error and lack of understanding. Educating your team on the risks of cyber security as well as how to spot it and what to do when they come across it can reduce the risk of employees falling for cyber criminal’s schemes.
Milnsbridge Managed IT Services have a range of IT security awareness offerings including training and simulations.
- Partner with a security-focused MSP
We pride ourselves on being a staunchly security-focused Managed Service Provider. Here at Milnsbridge, we are consistently adapting our Managed Security offerings to the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats in order to stay at the forefront of the industry and provide unwavering peace of mind for our clients.
- Invest in Managed Security
As a business, partnering with an MSP is a great first step, but there’s more to be done from here. Investing in Managed Security with Milnsbridge means you are providing your team with best in business software such as Next-Generation Anti Virus, password managers such as Keeper, authenticators, VPN’s and automated patch managers – all of which can help create a fortress of cyber security around your employees and their devices no matter where they are.
If you are concerned about your cyber security, talk to Milnsbridge Managed IT Services today by calling us on 1300 300 293.
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