Welp MagazineAs the name implies, a hybrid workforce is a mix of employees who work remotely and in the physical office setting. It could also mean that employees can work from home some of the time and work in the office the rest of the time. It’s an emerging work reality that carries with it certain challenges to meet and overcome. This includes cybersecurity threats that are alarmingly on the rise.
Whatever the reason that made your company switch to a hybrid office setting, you should secure your employees’ work-related activities, so they can continue to thrive and contribute to the attainment of your company’s goals. Here’s a list of practical tips to implement in your business to effectively keep your hybrid workforce secure.
1. Prepare For Any Tech Issues
Tech issues are bound to arise with a hybrid workforce. This is expected since your workforce will be relying heavily on technology to carry out their duties, especially if they’re working remotely. With this, it’s crucial to be prepared for tech problems, so you don’t compromise your company’s operations or security.
To achieve this, it’s good practice to have a tech team you can count on. You can have an in-house team or you can outsource the best IT services in Albuquerque or wherever you may be located. What’s important is to seek the help of IT experts whenever tech issues arise.
2. Educate The Workforce About Secure Work Practices
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace. This means that as you switch to a hybrid office, you may need new software and technology to support this work model. In addition, security standards and protocols may have to be updated to guard against cyber-attacks that could lead to data breaches.
This makes it imperative to educate your hybrid workforce about secure work practices. By providing your workforce with adequate training in safety measures, you can cultivate a security-oriented company culture. When your employees are fully aware of the potential hazards and the safety practices that they need to observe, you can secure your hybrid office from every endpoint.
3. Establish A Virtual Private Network
A virtual private network (VPN) is one of the standard baseline security solutions that many businesses have found useful, especially those with a large number of remote employees. A VPN provides employees with secure remote access to the company’s systems. Wherever employees may be working from, they can perform their usual tasks, as if they were in the physical office, without worrying about security threats to confidential work-related data.
For small businesses on a tight budget, VPNs are ideal because they’re cost-effective. It currently stands as one of the most affordable cybersecurity solutions that companies and organizations can implement.
4. Utilize An Endpoint Management Solution
An endpoint management solution is a convenient option to secure a hybrid workforce. When your company makes use of an endpoint management solution, your IT administrators can use a central console to gain a centralized view of all endpoints, such as servers, desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and other devices connected to the network. This enables them to authenticate and supervise the access of endpoint devices to the network to prevent any threats.
In addition, using an endpoint management solution brings about increased efficiency due to the implementation of patching and other security measures. Moreover, oversights are reduced, if not completely eradicated.
5. Apply Multi-Factor Authentication
Since you’re operating a hybrid workforce, it follows that you have employees signing in to your systems from various locations. Don’t be complacent by allowing automatic sign-ins or log-ins without authenticating user identity. If you’re not careful, one of those log-ins may be from an unauthorized individual or someone who may have stolen the password.
For this reason, it’s critical to verify every user of your systems every single day. You can do this by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA). This method requires the user to provide additional verification factors such as a fingerprint or one-time password (OTP) aside from the username and password. With this in place, you can protect your business from unauthorized access.
Conclusion
With the tips above, you can keep your hybrid workforce secure while simultaneously maintaining employee engagement, no matter where they may be working from.
Switching to a hybrid work setup has its own perks, both for the business and the employees, but it’s not without risks. That’s why it’s essential to leverage innovative solutions to prevent cyber-attacks and data breaches. Providing your hybrid workforce with regular training on security measures and identifying threats also contributes to a secure hybrid work arrangement.
