Even before COVID-19, remote work was a trend gaining more traction. With the rise of the pandemic, more companies were forced to begin working remotely if possible, and very quickly businesses became aware of the need for proper network and device security.
Security hasn’t been the only issue, remote work aside, so let’s take a look at compliance in the current remote working environment we’re in today, and how that connects to remote work.
Workplace Security and Compliance
Working from home brings a new host of challenges from a security standpoint because you have no control over your workforce’s computer and device use. A lot of employees will be using their own devices, and this can become a potential threat in itself because they will not have the correct security systems and tools installed on their system.
In addition, unless you have a monitoring system in place, it is likely that they may end up using the network for personal use, or purposes outside the strict workplace guidelines. So, what can you do to make sure that compliance is adhered to?
You may consider making sure that all of your employees have effective security tools and software downloaded onto their systems. This includes the likes of firewalls, network segregation, multi-factor authentication, and much more.
It is all about figuring out what sort of security tools your employees are going to need to protect your pivotal data while working from home. You then need to ensure that the correct software is implemented in the remote work environment so that everyone’s online work is protected and secure.
Aside from this, it is worth holding remote training sessions so you can teach your employees about the importance of data security and the different steps that they can take to make sure that their system is compliant. A lot of individuals do not realize that they are acting in a way that could compromise their business data.
So education really is key. Hold training sessions where you can teach your workers everything they need to know about updating their systems to effective password use. Don’t simply assume that all of your workers are aware of the best practices in this regard.
Conclusion
There is no denying that businesses face more challenges to the changing work dynamic that we’re in these days.
Upholding compliance can be more challenging when all of your employees are working from the comfort of their own homes and using their own devices. This is why it makes sense to leverage your business with managed IT and consulting services so you can be certain that you are operating in a compliant manner even though your workforce may be spread across the world.
You also want to make sure that if you work in the healthcare industry, that the managed service provider you outsource has the certification to work under HIPAA in order to maintain regulatory compliance and to protect your business.