Securing The Remote Workforce - How Remote Work Impacts Security

As the post-pandemic business recovery continues, executives are trying hard to persuade workers to return to the office. Employees aren't buying it, and research by McKinsey shows that 58% of people prefer to work remotely. In light of this, organizations should focus on implementing robust cybersecurity measures designed with the goal of securing the remote workforce.

The growing trend of remote work impacts companies' network security and can negatively affect their ability to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance.

In this article we will discuss:

Potential Security Risks of a Remote Workforce

Remote-access technologies are exposed to more external threats. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, organizations should assume that malicious parties will attempt to gain control of telework devices to steal sensitive data or gain access to the network.

Common considerations and threats faced by companies with remote workforces include:

The #1 Concern in Securing The Remote Workforce - The Human Factor 

Humans are always an organization's primary cybersecurity risk. Human error, employee negligence, social engineering, deliberate or unintentional sabotage, accidental leaking of credentials, and falling victim to phishing or malware are some ways staff can facilitate an attack regardless of where they work.

When workers operate from outside the office, these risks increase for several reasons, including:

An organization can have the tightest cybersecurity available to protect its networks and data from malicious attacks, but that can’t prevent employees from making mistakes that result in security incidents. Implementing proper employee security awareness training (to include phishing training for employees) and remote endpoint security controls can help prevent employees from making these mistakes.

PII Exposure

Unauthorized exposure of Personally identifiable information (PII) is one of the issues that can arise from the human factor.  PII is any material that can directly or indirectly identify a customer or other stakeholder. Most individual PII facts aren’t usable on their own, but combined with one or more additional credentials, they can identify people.

Sensitive PII can include:

Any type of PII should be shielded from unauthorized users and protected during transfers and data analysis. Segmenting such data away from unauthorized users is one of the best ways to help secure the remote workforce.

Inadequate Passwords

It’s hard to believe, but research shows more than 23 million people still use the password “123456” for online logins. Since compromised credentials are the number one cause of breaches and account for 61% of all cyberattacks, it stands to reason that fixing this problem can make a big difference to a company’s information security.

Requiring strong passwords and secure login credentials are critical to protecting an organization’s systems.

Insecure Collaboration 

As the remote working trend continues, companies are increasingly reliant on collaboration, document sharing, and messaging apps such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and WhatsApp. It is true that these apps were used prior to remote work, but the dependency has increased dramatically with the removal of human-to-human interaction you’d experience in a traditional office setting.

Employees have now become accustomed to using these communication platforms freely, but they weren’t built to be secure at an enterprise level. For that reason, the apps provide an ideal opportunity for hackers to infiltrate enterprise networks and gain access to sensitive company data.

Best Practices: Supporting Robust Cybersecurity and Securing The Remote Workforce

Just like most company premises have onsite security to prevent physical intruders, organizations can take various steps to ensure their cyber safety regardless of whether employees work on-premises or remotely. Some of the most fundamental measures to put in place are:

1. Utilize Endpoint Management Tools

All remote workers should use computers with basic security controls, such as reliable anti-virus software, enabled encryption, and strong passwords. Organizations often require employees working remotely to use VPNs to help maintain end-to-end data encryption. An endpoint management software is a crucial first step in enforcing these security controls remotely.

2. Use a Password Manager 

Companies should require every employee, remote and on-premise, to use a password manager program such as 1Password or Dashlane. These applications generate unique passwords, store, and manage multiple user login credentials. When workers need to share credentials or keys with other authorized users, password managers can share them safely using encryption protocols.

The programs also prompt individuals to change their passwords regularly and some have tools that monitor and provide alerts when a user’s credentials are involved in a dark web sale or data breach.

3. Provide Employee Cybersecurity Training

Train all workers, remote and otherwise, in basic information security and the nuances of social engineering. Impress on all employees the importance of keeping their devices locked at all times, and not sharing their devices (or passwords) with others.

4. Protect PII with Protocols

Implement security protocols to protect company PII. These could include access control, time-outs, and other user restrictions. Ensure all employees understand the risks and consequences of sharing PII, even unintentionally.

5. Require Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is good protection for any company to employ. MFA should be enabled on every device with access to company systems and data. This makes intrusions more challenging, even for the most talented hacker.

6. Pay Attention to Security Alerts

Teach employees to pay attention to security alerts, pop-ups, and password change notifications, and monitor their account activity. They should verify every device that logs into their profile and remove any they don’t recognize. Encourage workers to raise the alarm any time they notice something that appears out of place. Bad actors regularly discover new ways to target unsuspecting users.

7. Keep Devices Up to Date

Develop a system for keeping all employee devices up to date. Many software updates include critical security requirements, and these updates should not be ignored.

8. Last Step To Securing The Remote Workforce: Avoid Opening Spam Emails

Educate workers to avoid opening spam emails, clicking links, opening attachments, or downloading files from unrecognized senders. They should only interact with emails directly related to their work to avoid opening gateways for viruses, malware, and hackers.

What Remote Workers Should Do If They’re Compromised

One of the drawbacks of employing a remote workforce is that they don’t have immediate, in-person access to their IT department or anyone who can help them determine whether they have been compromised. If any worker notices suspicious activity on their devices or account, they should:

A SaaS company aiming to serve customers must ensure they comply with the security requirements of their industry. Whether these include SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, ISO compliance, or any other protocols, implementing these information security standards will help protect them against the risks posed by a remote workforce.

 

About The Author: Metin Kortak, CTO

Metin Kortak is the Chief Technology Officer at Rhymetec. He began his career working in IT security and gained extensive knowledge of compliance and data privacy frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, GDPR, CCPA, HITRUST and HIPAA. Metin joined Rhymetec to build data privacy and compliance as a service offering, and under his leadership, these offerings have grown to more than 200 customers, positioning the company as a leading SaaS security service provider in the industry.

 

 

About Rhymetec

Rhymetec was founded in 2015 as a Penetration Testing company. Since then, we have served hundreds of SaaS businesses globally in all their cybersecurity, compliance, and data privacy needs. We’re industry leaders in cloud security, and our custom services align with the specific needs of your business.

If you'd like to chat with our team to discuss your security questions and needs, contact us today.

There are numerous ways cybersecurity is important for business growth nowadays.

With today's evolving threats, heightened expectations from stakeholders, advancing technology and changing regulatory environment—protecting your data and meeting compliance standards feels like a race that's outpacing business' daily operations.

It doesn't have to feel that exhausting.

Simply investing in cybersecurity, and taking the steps over time to improve your information security programs, can help you propel your business forward. Here's how our 250+ (and growing) clients are framing their cybersecurity investments with Rhymetec as an asset to their overall growth and strategy:

 

1. The #1 Reason Why Cybersecurity Is Important For Business: Increase Trust and Referrals

Compliance frameworks such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001 require organizations to conduct comprehensive security assessments on other vendors prior to purchasing them or using their services. Many of these security assessments require other vendors to also have ISO 27001 certificates, SOC 2 Type 2 reports to be fully SOC 2 compliant, and other security documents. If you want to sell to mid-size and enterprise organizations, it is particularly important to be able to show you have a complete SOC 2 report.

Having even just one of these certifications or reports can help you work with more customers. For customers and business partners, knowing you are serious about providing high-quality products and services will increase their level of trust and willingness to work with you. This will also organically lead to greater opportunities for referrals.

 

2. Use Cybersecurity As A Competitive Differentiator

A strong cybersecurity program helps attract and win more customers over competitors who are not prioritizing cybersecurity, compliance, and data privacy. Being able to show that you already have a solid security posture helps you stand out from other companies.

Not only does this impact your relationship with customers, but it can attract high-quality candidates and partners. When people see you are going the extra mile to protect their information, they will be more likely to work with you. Most customers will select vendors that have more security and compliance reports.

 

3. Improve Company Image

Data loss and breaches can damage your business’ reputation and destroy trust.

Show stakeholders—customers, business partners, employees, investors and more—you are committed to implementing proper security measures by utilizing security services. Working with a Managed Security Services Provider like Rhymetec shows you have your security policies and plans in place. In the event of a data breach or security incident, Rhymetec offers companies a dedicated CISO team that responds quickly and efficiently.

 

4. Minimize Financial Risks

Your company's financial risk includes your cybersecurity risk profile. Cyberattacks such as phishing and malware are commonly used by threat actors with financial motives. The first step to mitigating this risk is to understand your risk profile.

A big part of improving your cybersecurity posture is conducting a risk assessment and a plan in alignment with it. In the event of a cyberattack such as a ransomware attack, you will already have a plan of action in place. Instead of scrambling to figure out what to do and who to contact, you will save money and time by already knowing exactly what to do.

 

5. Gain Increased Visibility

If you want to break into new marketplaces or sell internationally, having a strong cybersecurity program is a requirement in many cases.

For example, if you want to sell to government agencies, you likely need to be FedRAMP compliant. Obtaining FedRAMP compliance puts your company in the online marketplace that government agencies use to find businesses to work with.

If you want to sell to enterprise, many larger organizations will only consider working with you if you can prove the strength of your security program. The most widely accepted form of proof for this is a SOC 2 report.

 

6. The Last Reason Why Cybersecurity Is Important For Business: Save Time and Resources

As previously discussed, having an incident response plan in place saves time and resources in the event you were to experience a cyberattack. If you already know what to do in the event of a data breach, you will spend less time and fewer resources figuring out how to respond to the incident while also mitigating potential reputational damage to your organization.

Furthermore, a sharp focus on security can also save time in your sales and customer acquisition process.

If you already have your SOC Report, for example, you will not have to spend time filling out a long custom security questionnaire for every new prospect. You can simply show them your SOC 2 Report as evidence that you have a strong cybersecurity program.

 

Why Cybersecurity Is Important For Business For Rhymetec's Customers

Our experts have been disrupting the cybersecurity, compliance and data privacy space since 2015. We make security simple and accessible so you can put more time and energy into other critical areas of your business—Some of our customers have gone on to be acquired by Meta and Zoom. Our customers recognize why cybersecurity is important for business growth, and trust Rhymetec to help them reap the benefits of having a stronger security program.

What makes us unique is that we act as an extension to your team. We consult on developing stronger information security programs within your environment, and provide the services to meet these standards. Most organizations offer one or the other. From compliance readiness (SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, HIPAA, GDPR and more) to Penetration Testing Services (Web Application Pentest, API Pentest, External Network Pentest and Mobile Application Pentest) and ISO Internal Audits, we offer a wide range of consulting and security services that can be tailored to your business environment.

If you’re ready to learn about how Rhymetec can help you, contact us today to meet with our team.

 

About The Author: Metin Kortak, CTO

Metin Kortak is the Chief Technology Officer at Rhymetec. He began his career working in IT security and gained extensive knowledge of compliance and data privacy frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, GDPR, CCPA, HITRUST and HIPAA. Metin joined Rhymetec to build data privacy and compliance as a service offering, and under his leadership, these offerings have grown to more than 200 customers, positioning the company as a leading SaaS security service provider in the industry.