In light of concerns about the current outbreak of the emerging coronavirus ( Covid-19 ), and the need for staff to continue to work without risk, and away from offices and workplaces, home-based work has become everyone's concern.

While many organizations offer and study this opportunity, it is extremely important for users and companies to maintain security while protecting the health and safety of everyone . Here are some tips that keep workers safe while they work from home.

To get started easy:

Remote workers may need assistance in configuring devices and connecting them to the necessary services (such as mail and Internet services, or SalesForce, etc.), without actually delivering them to the IT department, so search for products (whether security or others) that have an SSP portal that allows Users do things themselves to avoid getting out and infection with the new Corona virus.

Go back to the basics and make sure that all hardware, operating systems, and software applications are fully up to date with the latest versions and security patches, as malware frequently penetrates enterprise defenses through an unprotected or completely outdated device.

Hardware coding when possible:

When people work outside the office, there is an increased risk of losing or stealing devices, for example: leaving the phone in the café, or stealing a laptop from the car, as most devices include authentic coding tools such as BitLocker that ensure that it cannot be used by an unauthorized person.

Set up a secure connection with the office:

The use of a virtual private network VPN ensures that all data transmitted between the user at home and the office network is encrypted and protected during its transfer, and this also makes it easier for employees to carry out their work.

Scanning and securing e-mail to establish sound security practices:

Work from home will often lead to a significant increase in the size of e-mails because people do not speak personally to their colleagues in that case, and criminals are aware of this fact, and they have already started using the Corona virus in emails to steal identity as a way to entice users to click on malicious links, so make sure to update Email protection and awareness of identity theft attacks.

Enable web filtering:

Applying web filtering rules to devices ensures that only users have access to content appropriate to work, while protecting them from websites that contain malware and links.

Support for using cloud storage for files and data:

Cloud storage allows people to access their data even if their devices are unable to work remotely, do not leave files and data in the cloud structure without protection or available to access it from everyone, and the least that can be done is to verify the identity of employees, and it is better to use Two-step verification process.

Managing the use of mobile storage and other accessories:

Work from home can increase the opportunity to connect insecure devices to the work computer, and that may be to copy data to a USB connection or to charge another device, as about 14% of cyber threats come through external devices, and USB connections, which means that it is good to enable control Devices within the protection of the end points to deal with these risks.

Control of mobile devices:

Mobile devices are vulnerable to theft or loss, and you should be able to lock them or wipe the data in them remotely if that happens, so implement application restrictions, and standard endpoint management solutions for mobile device management and protection.

Make sure to provide a way to report security problems:

When working from home, a person cannot go to IT staff whenever they encounter a problem, so give employees an easy and fast way to report security problems, for example an email address that is easy to save.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with counterfeit IT solutions:

In light of the large number of people working from home, the percentage of imitation of information technology increases, that is, when people not specialized in information technology find their own means to solve problems.

Sophos recently discovered that there are publicly available Trello lists containing names, email addresses, birthdays, identification numbers, and bank account information, so it is important to emphasize the importance of prompt reporting of the use of these tools.