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How To Stay Secure When Managing A Remote Team

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in remote working, with many organisations becoming more flexible when it comes to working hours and location.

Written by Adam Bovan

September 2018

Working from home is on the rise.

This transformation in the way we work has largely been down to innovation in technology. Our devices are continually getting smarter and more portable and we now have the ability to connect with our colleagues from almost anywhere in the world.

Research has shown that allowing staff to work where they want and when they want has improved productivity, boosted motivation and enhanced company loyalty.

However, despite all these benefits, remote working can also compromise your cybersecurity. If you take work outside of the office without carefully considering data security, you could risk business downtime, financial loss and damage to your reputation.

How do I ensure my remote team stays secure?

Create a cybersecurity culture.

We’re sorry to say it, but the weakest part of the security chain is always the humans.

We have a tendency to let security slide, whether this is through sharing a password with a colleague, leaving important details scribbled on a sticky note or simply forgetting to routinely change login codes.

Make it part of your business culture and build good habits and behaviours around security.

By regularly raising the issue of cybersecurity with your team, you can ensure it’s at the forefront of their minds and strengthen your security arsenal considerably.

Stay up to date.

We’ve spoken time and time again on this blog about ensuring that your systems and software are up to date with current signatures and releases.

Quality antivirus and antimalware programmes update frequently to combat new and upcoming threats. Be sure to check whether you are using the latest version – it might not automatically download onto your devices.

This is vital as ransomware is on the rise and remote working on personal devices is allowing cybercriminals easy access to valuable company data.

If you do have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy at your work, or your team regularly works from their own PCs, laptops and smartphones, verify that they are also taking appropriate security measures.

Set up a VPN.

Remote teams often work on-the-go at coffee shops, from hotels and on public transport. Simply connect to the free Wi-Fi and you’re away, right?

Well, as we’ve mentioned previously on this blog, public hotspots are a hotbed for cybercrime and can put your business at serious risk of a data breach.

This is because people can easily snoop on the connection if it’s not secured properly. Another trick that hackers love is setting up fake networks for you to unknowingly hook up to.

Creating a VPN is one of the best ways to prevent prying eyes as it scrambles data – such as important login details and information – that is transferred between your device and the network.

The technology is a good way for both small and large businesses to stay safe when working outside of the office.


If you need advice on staying secure when you have a remote workforce, please get in touch with us today. In the meantime, be sure to check out our blog post on productivity for remote teams.

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