Tips to Keep Remote Workers Safe(Safer)

As my son likes to say, nothing it bulletproof – it all depends on the size of the bullet.  Likewise, nothing is 100% secure (except the computer that has never been taken out of the box)  but your actions can improve the odds dramatically.

Here are some recommendations from Dark Reading.  Most people will pick and choose from this list, but pick some today and then come back in a week or a month and pick a few more.  Remember, you are just trying to make life hard enough for the bad guys that they hack someone else.

So here are the tips:

1. When working remotely, use two computers – one for work and one for personal stuff.  Besides the fact that malware on one might not infect the other, there are many other reasons that you might want to do this (like not wanting your boss to snoop on your personal stuff or backup your nude selfies on the company backups).
2. Use only approved software on your company computer – many companies won’t let you install other software but many do let you.  There is a reason they approve the software that they do;  it goes through a vetting process.  It might be inconvenient, but so is getting breached.
3. Don’t rely on a consumer-grade router, Wi-Fi hotspot or Firewall – I could go on all day about this one.  If your router, Wi-Fi or firewall is provided by your home Internet provider, you can assume that it is the best equipment that your provider can buy for $5 or $10.  Some Internet providers require that you use their equipment but there are no rules that say that you can’t put your own  firewall between the box your Internet provider uses and your computers.  That is what I do.  My firewall cost me $200.  But it runs the same software that you use in your office.  This is a case of you get what you pay for.  My Internet provider has not patched their firewall since 2013.    I am sure that there were no bugs fixed in the last 6 years.
4. Ensure that your Firewall is configured securely – Your Internet provider will configure any equipment that they provide to minimize the number of support calls that they get.  That saves them money.  If that happens to make things more secure, that is a coincidence.  Mostly, it will make things less secure.  YOU are responsible for the security of your home network.
5. Connect to your corporate network using a VPN – Using a VPN will definitely improve the security of your connection.  If you are a techie and you manage cloud servers from home, use a VPN connection to manage those as well.  Again, many free VPN services are worth exactly what you pay for them.  And some of them are even run by China – I am sure those are very secure.
6. Be wary of public Wi-Fi – I am sure that your local coffee shop has all the best intentions when they offer you FREE Wi-Fi, but again, you get what you pay for.  Their IT department likely manages the network in between grinding and serving coffee.
7. Harden your wireless access point(s) – There are lots of ways to improve the security of your Wi-Fi, especially when you are located in a high density location.  A friend of mine lived in New York and never paid for Internet, he only mooched off neighbor’s Wi-Fi.  Wi-Fi 6 is coming soon as is WPA-3.  Both will improve your security but both will require either software or hardware upgrades.
8. Keep a very close watch on your stuff when you travel – I recently did a TV interview discussing a poor fellow who got his credit cards stolen while he was in the grocery store.  90 minutes later the crooks had racked up $23,000 worth of charges on his cards.  Hotel rooms and hotel safes are notoriously insecure.  If you don’t need to take it when you travel LEAVE IT AT HOME!  Otherwise, secure it as best you can.
9. Update system and software patches regularly – this includes your phone and your tablet, in addition to your computer and ONLY update from a secure location – NEVER from public Wi-Fi.  Note that this includes all of your apps in addition to your operating system.
10. Update your system’s firmware – do you even know what firmware is?  It is the software that runs the software that you see.  Almost nothing is done in pure hardware these days.  That includes updating the firmware in your firewall, router, Wi-Fi and especially your phone.  Some equipment can be configured to automatically update (Apple is really good about this) and while that might, occasionally cause problems, overall, auto-update is the way to go.

Come back tomorrow for more tips.  That’s all for now.

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