As you can imagine, many IT departments are very busy at this moment in time. With the urgent requirement for many businesses to get their staff setup for remote working to carry out their day to day duties in light of the ongoing restrictions.
For some businesses this can involve making sweeping changes to policies to allow remote working. This involves new rules and regulations being drafted and approved quickly which can mean that certain things can be missed. Furthermore, if your business has relatively little experience with IT systems then the key decision makers in your business need to be aware of potential issues that working from home could create.
To stop these things occurring, in our latest blog article we are going to provide you with 3 potential data & security issues around remote working and how you can resolve them.
1) Data Leakage
One of the first potential issues around remote working is the fact that there is a higher chance of data leakage.
You will find that some remote working tools that are adopted by businesses avoid some of the critical internal IT controls that are in place to stop data being lost.
When employees make the shift towards working from home which is outside their normal office environment it can increase the chances of riskier IT behaviour occurring. In an office environment, it is very easy to monitor employee behaviour to ensure they aren’t taking any unnecessary IT risks such as bringing in an external USB drive and connecting to an office computer.
Regardless whether an employee’s intentions are to complete a task or to steal company data, the consequences of these actions are still the same as there is an increased chance of data being leaked & a breach of GDPR regulations.
If you are looking to avoid the above issue, then talk to our Managed Services Team today who can provide you with a tailored IT audit & recommend reliable and security conscience collaboration tools for your business to use during this outbreak.
2) Cyber Security
Another potential issue around remote working is the fact that it expands the connections beyond the normal firewall defences within your office environment.
It is easy to say to your employees to connect your office network from their own personal computers. However, this in itself is far from perfect and presents a whole host of security concerns as there may be malware or malicious content on their personal computers.
If your business does decide to allow personal computer use, then additional caution needs to be taken, as there is a much higher chance of a breach of the office network and data being stolen.
Any cyber security opportunities presented to authorised employees after being given access could be exploited by a minority. Therefore, it is crucial that all remote working routes are monitored and well protected to limit the chances of a potential breach occurring.
If you are looking to avoid the above issue, then get in touch with our Managed Services Team today who can help you with your Cyber Security requirements and any other security issues that your business faces.
3) Data Connectivity
Another potential issue around remote working is to do with data connectivity.
You will find that working from home impacts greatly on internet connectivity. Most businesses will have a broadband package that covers when an employee is in the office, however many may not be able to cover multiple remote working sessions. Usually most businesses have a higher capacity for incoming data rather than outgoing data.
Usually this capacity is enough as most data is coming into the business rather than going away from it. However, by increasing remote working access it can reduce the outgoing data capacity.
This means that your business will need to discuss how many employees can realistically be logged on at one time and if necessary you may need to prioritise users if the IT system is struggling to cope.
If this is not done, then all users will be suffering from connectivity issues and become frustrated.
If you are looking to make sure that your business has the right levels of connectivity for remote working then get in touch with our IT experts today.
Next Steps?
If your business is looking to get remote working adoption implemented throughout your business functions asap then please get in touch with our dedicated team of IT experts today.
