In recent years, remote working has become the norm for most companies. Nowadays, organizing entire departments of remote workers is as normal as driving a car with autopilot or writing a student paper with the help of a paper writing service. The coronavirus epidemic greatly boosted the development of remote work, but even years after the abolition of all restrictions, companies do not want to return to the old paradigm.
According to FlexOS and Robert Half, now in the world, fully remote work is about 16% of all workers in all areas, and another 29% work in the so-called hybrid model, combining remote work and visits to the office. At the same time, the positions and access of remote workers can be extremely high. The security of the workplace, even on your couch, can affect the entire company’s security, as the level of cyber threats is only increasing yearly. It is important to know how to protect your device from intrusion and harm.
Current Cybersecurity Threats
According to CrowdStrike’s 2024 report, attacks on cloud systems have increased by 75%, and attacks involving data theft and account hacking continue to grow. There are over 6 billion malware attacks in 2023, an 11% increase from 2022 and the highest number since 2019.
Collecting and analyzing this data is critical to understanding the current landscape of cybersecurity threats. It’s like conducting an overview of the field and the service you’re about to enter. You need to understand the terms, pitfalls, and benefits clearly. Such an example can be found by looking at masterpapers review where experienced reviewers deconstruct the work of the service and analyze all the details, nuances, and benefits that await a person in cooperation. As for the sphere of cyber threats for remote workers, they do not differ much from the threats for the office, but there are still differences that we will mention.
Top Cybersecurity Threats to Remote Workers
We’ll highlight the top types of cyber threats and focus on why they are the most dangerous when working remotely.
- Phishing attacks: According to Verizon’s 2024 report, phishing remains one of the top threats, accounting for 36% of all cyberattacks. These threats include primarily phishing emails that can come from work and personal emails. And since the remote worker’s work device is usually the same for personal use, the threat becomes twofold.
- Malware: The IBM report states that ransomware is the current “trend” in malware. This type of malware blocks access to your computer and threatens to destroy sensitive data if you don’t transfer a certain amount of money to the ransomware.
- Remote Access Attacks: One key threat to the remote worker is hacking VPN access to remote desktops. This attack is especially relevant for people outside of secure corporate networks.
Basic Cybersecurity Principles for Remote Work
The basic principles of cybersecurity are similar to the warnings of bomb technicians and police officers to children. It’s dangerous to touch unknown objects, open strange bags, open doors to strangers, look in their vans, and press random buttons. In the case of cyber threats, this means don’t open suspicious emails, don’t click on unknown links, or tap on questionable banners. To be more specific about preventing remote computer hacks, several standard effective practices exist.
- Complex passwords: If you have one password, which is your date of birth or phone number, and this password is the same for all accounts, we have bad news. Strong passwords and constantly changing them is one of the main ways to protect accounts with sensitive information.
- Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security. It’s like double doors or a box with a secret bottom where the most valuable things are hidden. Additional login confirmation via SMS or authorizer (Google Authenticator, Authy) greatly reduces the risks of losing valuable information even if the first password has been compromised.
- Program and operating system updates: Developers constantly monitor the threat level and add security protocols with each new update. You are highly advised to pay attention to updates.
- Additional Firewalls and Antivirus Programs: Although modern operating systems have built-in and quite effective firewalls, it is not unreasonable to add the protection of antivirus programs such as Norton, McAfee, or Bitdefender.
Setting up Wi-Fi Security
Let’s briefly go through the steps necessary to secure your wireless network.
- Wi-Fi network encryption: When working on a Wi-Fi network, it is better to set the security level in the router settings to the maximum, namely WPA3.
- Setting visibility: It is also recommended to hide the SSID (network name) to make it harder to be detected.
- Using a VPN: A virtual private network encrypts Internet traffic, making data interception more difficult. It is recommended that work devices use specialized paid software.
Protecting Your Devices and Data
There are two main approaches to physically securing the data on your remote working devices.
Protecting your work devices
It is highly recommended that you use something like BitLocker for Windows and FileVault for macOS. These will protect your data if your device is lost or stolen.
Backup
Additional copies of your programs and files will allow you to continue working even if something happens to the base build. You can use Backblaze and Google Drive for backups.
Utilize Corporate Security Tools
If you have access to vulnerable company information, it’s critical to beef up the device’s defenses with additional tools. These solutions should already fall mainly on the company.
- Enterprise VPN and VDI: These tools provide secure access to remote corporate networks.
- Remote workstation management: Microsoft Intune and Cisco Meraki provide centralized control and protection of remote devices.
- Minimum Access Policy: This approach has worked well, especially with insider threats. An employee must have the minimum sufficient access to complete a task.
Conclusion
In 2024, crypto wallet attacks have been added to the standard cyber threats in the form of phishing attacks and hacking access through workware software and devices. Their number has increased by almost 70%, and ransomware attacks have reached the 3rd place among all threats in the history of observation. Keeping your work environment, even remote, safe, and secure, is critical to your company’s and individual employee’s success, so pay attention to all available protection tools.