Business leaders and employees alike are embracing the recent trends toward remote and hybrid work. The pandemic was essentially a trial run for a global remote workforce, and has proven to be much more feasible than most ever expected. With the support of video conferencing, high speed internet, and the vast number of cloud products and services currently available, there has never been a better time to migrate away from the office.

Of course, we can’t ignore the obvious consequences of abruptly switching to this new way of working. The criminal world has recognized that operations are moving away from office environments, and has adjusted accordingly. This is one of the reasons why ransomware and similar exploits have skyrocketed over the last year, and will likely continue as more businesses make this transition. However, many victims of ransomware have made the switch to remote/hybrid without the proper safeguards in place. By understanding the best ways to keep employees protected from these threats, leaders can move into this new era with complete peace of mind.

Familiarize Yourself , And Staff, With The Most Common Attacks

Ransomware has made most of the headlines this year, but malware, phishing, viruses, and DDoS attacks can be equally devastating. Simply knowing the most common ways hackers attempt to create chaos for businesses is an excellent way to notice problems before they start. At the same time, employees should be thoroughly educated on these exploits as well, so they can avoid falling into the most common traps.

Secure Employee Tech BEFORE Officially Switching To Remote/Hybrid

The possibility of working from home can be exciting for employees, but business leaders must be absolutely certain that their infrastructure and company products are  secure and functional enough before moving forward. One of the most common problems during the pandemic was providing workers with unsecured remote tech, which hackers then exploited without their knowledge. Making sure laptops and mobile devices are secure is absolutely mandatory for remote/hybrid operations. Remote device management systems also offer complete control over company devices, so that managers fully control their software and applications.

Focus on Zero Trust Approach

Now that employees can work from anywhere, they may be tempted to occasionally work on public networks. Many if not most of these networks are unsecure, which are often breeding grounds for bad actors.  A Zero Trust Approach to network security means that no device or network activity can be trusted, and requires the verification and identity of all users/devices to guarantee hackers don’t go unnoticed.

Utilize Complex Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication

Most users in the digital space understand the importance of having a solid password, but should be mentioned due to the serious nature of online threats. Security can be intensified almost instantly with multi factor authentication, which uses additional information to identify and verify employees when they sign into certain programs. This means that even if a hacker somehow uncovered an employee password, there would still be additional info needed to move forward.