Secured Remote Workplace Setup: Essential Tools and Protocols for HR Professionals

With the global shift toward remote work transforming traditional operations, businesses are adopting more flexible setups and diverse talent pools. This transition, however, introduces a significant challenge: ensuring data security and regulatory compliance.

In fact, a Barracuda Networks study shows that 46% of organizations have had at least one cybersecurity incident within their first two months of running a remote team.

Considering this alarming statistic, it’s plain to see that a proactive and strategic approach to protecting your company and clients’ sensitive information is imperative.

As such, we’ll tackle essential tools, protocols, and policies that will allow you to mitigate the risks associated with remote environments.

Security and compliance risks of remote work

Since the shift to work-from-home personnel may initially come off as a simple matter, you might underestimate the risks it presents. Such setups, in fact, introduce these dangers to security and compliance:

Security vulnerabilities

Laptops, tablets, smartphones, and internet connections are your remote employees’ essential tools. Although these enable productivity, they’re still exposed to these threats:

Personal device usage

Research from Lookout revealed the following details about how remote and hybrid workers use their devices:

• 92% use their personal tablets or smartphones for tasks, with 46% saving a work file onto those devices
• Rather than opting for company-issued equipment, 43% choose personal devices, with most acknowledging doing personal tasks during company hours
• Almost 60% disclosed sending an email from their work account to a personal one, while 45% admitted recycling passwords for both account types

These habits create security gaps that leave employees susceptible to cyber threats, especially when their devices lack robust security measures and configurations.

Unsecured networks and public Wi-Fi

Remote workers typically connect to your organization’s systems via their home network or public Wi-Fi, which are often unsecured, prone to data exposure, and vulnerable to the activities of malicious parties.

Potential threats

Given the above susceptibilities introduced by remote setups, your organization will also be introduced to these possible pitfalls:

Credential compromise and unauthorized access

Without stringent security measures, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), unauthorized individuals can exploit weak credentials and tap into sensitive information.

Data breaches

Since 2020, 20% of organizations have reported experiencing a data breach due to a remote employee, underscoring a heightened number of incidents in decentralized work environments.

When malicious actors are able to bypass subpar security, the confidential data they acquire, depending on their nature, may result in significant operational and reputational damage.

Phishing attacks

Remote setups are heavily reliant on digital communication. Due to this, employees become prime targets for phishing, as attackers try to exploit less-secure home and public networks.

Since employees are more isolated and lack immediate verification channels as well, they’re prone to experience the rising occurrence of phishing attacks.

Compliance requirements

With the safety and privacy of company and customer data being serious issues in today’s business environments, organizations must now adhere to strict guidelines. These come with corresponding challenges:

Data protection obligations

To give you an example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an extensive law that institutes a framework for correctly carrying out the following activities tied to data privacy:

• Collecting
• Processing
• Storage
• Transfer

It mandates that all personal data be processed securely through strict protocols. Since failing to comply with the GDPR results in hefty penalties, it enforces the importance of controlling and monitoring remote access to your organization and clients’ information.

Increased breach costs

Besides presenting the risk of fines associated with compliance violations, remote work has also been tied to a $1 million increase in the average cost of data breaches—which reaches up to an astounding $4.99 million per occurrence.

Given these heavy financial implications, it’s critical that you conduct comprehensive measures, whether it be through robust security protocols or relevant employee training.

Why secure your remote work environments?

Apart from mitigating the risks we’ve discussed, safeguarding confidential business information is paramount, especially in remote environments, for several reasons:

Maintaining customer trust and loyalty

Since clients entrust your company with their personal data, it’s natural that they expect you to protect it—this is essential for nurturing and preserving their trust. Any compromise, meanwhile, can erode customer relationships and tarnish your organization’s reputation.

Almost all companies, 94% of them in fact, recognize that customers would likely stop purchasing from them if sensitive data isn’t adequately guarded.

Safeguarding company reputation

A single data breach can severely damage your organization’s name, as news of its incidence can spread rapidly, resulting in public distrust and potentially lost business opportunities.

Due to this, maintaining robust data protection measures is of utmost importance, as it demonstrates your commitment to security and ethical practices.

Avoiding legal and financial repercussions

We previously mentioned the legal risks presented by remote work environments, like how failing to comply with data protection laws can lead to significant fines and consequences.

A data breach can even cost you an alarming amount of money through lost opportunities. Properly securing your remote workplaces, however, helps you circumvent these dangers.

Protecting intellectual property and competitive advantage

Sensitive company information includes proprietary data and intellectual property—assets that let your organization maintain its competitive edge. Unauthorized access or data breaches, however, can lead to leaks that snowball into financial losses and harm your market position.

Implementing robust security systems and protocols, however, ensures that your organization’s strategies and vital information remain exclusive.

Enhancing operational efficiency

Mishaps related to sensitive data can disrupt your operations. Think of how leaks will require you to notify affected parties, do damage control, and tighten your information systems—these will lead to unexpected downtime and resource diversion.

Through a proactive approach, your company can maintain seamless operations, as well as point resources toward growth initiatives rather than crisis management.

Essential security tools and technologies for remote teams

Securing your organization’s remote work environment calls for the integration of various instruments that can protect assets and ensure compliance. To give you a better idea, we’ll tackle the most common ones:

Virtual private networks (VPNs)

VPNs secure connections by encrypting internet traffic. This creates a safe tunnel between your remote employees’s devices and your company’s network, thus protecting classified data from possible interception.

Here are some tips to help you maximize them: 

• Make implementation mandatory: To maintain data confidentiality across the organization, require all remote personnel to use a VPN when accessing work resources.
• Update them regularly: VPN updates are designed to address emerging security vulnerabilities, so make sure employees always use the latest versions.
• Complement it with strong authentication: Combine VPN usage with robust credential validation mechanisms, such as MFA, for an extra layer of security.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

MFA is a security measure that requires users to undergo an additional method of identity verification. Its core purpose is to include a step that protects systems and applications against compromised passwords and unauthorized access.

This involves providing another piece of evidence that only a specific employee would have, like a unique pin, one-time password (OTP), or fingerprint. It could even come in the form of face or voice recognition.

The proper incorporation of MFA in your remote setups would entail:

• • Comprehensive deployment: Enforcing MFA across all company systems and applications establishes an extra layer of security beyond the usual passwords.
  • User education: Employees must be educated about MFA’s importance, as well as its setup and usage.

• Effective password management: Your company’s first step to identity authentication is critical, and this necessitates complex passwords. Policies that require periodic password changes also minimize the risk of credential compromise.

Endpoint protection software

Endpoint protection software monitors and safeguards individual devices—think of your workers’ laptops, desktops, tablets, or smartphones. It identifies suspicious indicators by examining files, processes, and system activity.

Essentially, this solution acts as a cybersecurity layer on each “endpoint” within your company’s network. It often includes antivirus, intrusion detection, and device control features that protect your remote workers from malware and other cyber threats.

The effective installation, maintenance, and administration of endpoint protection software, meanwhile, necessitates:

• Extensive suites: The deployment of a solution with comprehensive capabilities for virus and malware protection, as well as endpoint detection and response (EDR), on all employee devices establishes a tight defense against various threats.
• Timely updates: To properly shield your organization from the latest dangers, your software must be kept up-to-date. Automated patch management systems can help, as they promptly address known vulnerabilities in operating systems or applications.
• Employee awareness: Educating staff about all your security tools is essential, as they must also be able to maintain their devices’ integrity.

Data loss prevention (DLP) tools

DLPs are designed to monitor, identify, and prevent the unauthorized access, use, or transmission of sensitive information within your organization. These protect you from suspicious activities or data movement, as well as potential breaches and losses by:

1. Classifying sensitive and non-sensitive data for targeted protection
2. Monitoring the flow of information across channels like email, cloud storage, and network drives to detect possible leaks
3. Enforcing your company’s data policies, like what constitutes a breach and how to respond to it, whether it be blocking activities or alerting security teams
4. Generating alerts on potential breaches and providing detailed reports on dubious activities

To tighten your security even further, take these steps while utilizing a DLP tool:

• Enact preventive measures: Implement strict controls to ensure only authorized employees can access sensitive information.

• Establish stringent policies: You can start by restricting the use of external storage devices and unauthorized cloud services.

• Encrypt your data: Encrypting confidential data, both at rest and in transit, can protect it from potential leaks.

Implementing security protocols and policies for remote work

Knowing about the tools needed to secure your organization’s remote work environment isn’t enough. Establishing thorough protocols is essential to better data protection and compliance. These will revolve around:

Remote access policy

You don’t want unapproved parties tapping into your remote staff’s devices. To prevent possible occurrences, strict access guidelines must be put in place. They should cover:

• Company-issued devices: By mandating the use of devices from the organization, configured with standardized security settings, you minimize vulnerabilities.
• Personal devices: If you permit personal devices, enforce Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies that require measures such as encryption and security software.
• Access controls: Define clear rules for the remote access of company systems and data. Specify which resources are accessible to certain employee roles.
• Secure connections: To ensure encrypted connections between remote devices and your organization’s networks, require the use of VPNs.

Password management and security awareness

Your staff’s due diligence and passwords are your first layer of security, protecting internal systems from unwanted parties. Bolstering them will necessitate:  

• Strong guidelines: Impose the use of complex passwords that combine letters, numbers, and special characters. Software such as a password manager can securely store and manage credentials as well, reducing the risk of them being weak or reused.

• Security awareness training: Keeping employees in-the-know regarding cyber threats, phishing scams, and best practices ensures data protection. Simulations can also assess and improve their vigilance and responses to attacks.

Device security policy

Although your remote access policy covers device security quite a bit, the associated protocols can be taken a step further. Here are some examples:

• Set up rules for acceptable use: Detail what remote employees can and can’t do on company-owned and personal devices, such as prohibited activities and applications.
• Compliant monitoring: Ensure your monitoring tools align with device usage policies without infringing on your staff’s personal privacy.
• Outline mandatory protections: To maximize device integrity, require that each of them have firewalls, antivirus and encryption software, etc. Also, enforce regular updates.

Incident response plan

Despite having tight policies in place, cyber attacks or breaches can still happen. Addressing them swiftly and effectively, meanwhile, calls for thoughtful contingency plans:

• • Create structured reporting procedures: Efficient communication enables immediate action. So, establish a process that facilitates the instant reporting of security gaps or malicious acts such as phishing.

• Allow anonymous reporting: Employees might not report incidents straight away, as they may fear retaliation or suspicion from others. Create channels that let them point out vulnerabilities incognito, as this enables open communication and prompt response.

• Define clear roles: Building a team whose members counter corresponding dangers will improve the efficiency of your incident response, so establish distinct responsibilities. One can specialize in phishing, for instance, while another in data breaches.

• Recovery procedures: How your organization recuperates from cyber attacks or breaches is just as important as its preventive measures. So, continually develop and improve how you contain incidents, restore systems, and inform stakeholders.

Wrapping up—Secure remote workplace setups to ensure resilient operations

In today’s digital business landscapes, proactively securing the remote workforce protects your company’s and its customers’ sensitive data, ensures legal compliance, and upholds its reputation.

Orchestrating such a setup, meanwhile, requires the following:

• An understanding of the vulnerabilities associated with remote environments, the possible cyber threats they face, and data protection regulations
• The incorporation of tools and technologies that secure your organization’s devices, systems, and applications
• Robust policies and protocols that cover remote access, device security, incident response, and the like

By addressing these three critical aspects, you not only safeguard your remote environments and maintain customer relationships, but also protect your company’s operations.