Staying Secure While Hybrid Working

Hello, again Community friends! We all know how important it is to be conscious of cyber security, and establish regular practices to maintain that security. Have you or your employees recently transitioned to hybrid work, meaning some time is spent working in the office and the rest at home? I came across an article on the QuickBooks Blog that provided some notable measures on how to stay secure while going back and forth between the office and home. Here are some of the points mentioned...

Build your own handbook
Small business owners/operators should have a written, not just verbally understood, cyber handbook. The handbook will provide guidelines for each employee and cover what is and what isn't acceptable when it comes to using the web for work. "The goal is to create a resource that every employee can access, regardless of their location and the devices they use for work. It should be the first stop for any team member who has questions or wants to double-check a policy."

Hardware
Whether work machines are provided by the company or a personal responsibility, trusting the technology you're using is necessary for security. If your or your employee's work station are outdated, you won't have the confidence in it to perform, therefore creating even more work and worry on yourself. The article mentions that everyone should be using hardware that can run the latest version of Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android. Nobody should be using an operating system that is no longer receiving security updates, such as Windows 7.

Connectivity
Connectivity links back to everything being up to date. Number one is the router. If your router is out of date, connection to your secure network can be lost, leaving your most private business information at risk. In addition to everything being updated, you should also protect your data with a strong, unique, password that is also regularly changed.

Check out the full article for even more info about protecting your business from phishers and others of the sort on the web while going back and forth between home and office. What measures are you practicing to keep your business secure? Let us know in the comments!