What You Need To Know While Working From Home

What You Need to Be Aware of While Working Remotely

With the majority of people having to work from home now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is really important to be aware of the cyber threats that target individuals working remotely and learn how to keep important information secure. 

What Cyberthreats am I exposed to While Working From Home?

Since the shutdown happened, cyberattacks have increased by over 300%. Why is this the case?

Well, individuals working from home now have to rely on their home wifi networks for internet access, and if you don’t have a virtual private network (VPN), it is very easy for cybercriminals to breach your data. 

Also, many individuals and businesses may not have proper cybersecurity protection put in place. Sorry to break it to you, but the anti-virus software that came with your computer isn’t going to cut it. With cybercrime increasing exponentially, you need around the clock monitoring and preferably you’d have someone or a team monitoring that rather than AI. 

At home, your computer is not the only device at risk. Besides your computer, phone, and email, your printer and IoT devices are all access points for cybercriminals to breach your data.

For example, smart printers are common in every household and have minimal security due to the common assumption that they are relatively safe. However, with printers constantly scanning private documents and being connected to your network, this makes an unsuspecting and enticing target for cybercriminals. 

What Can I Do to Prevent a Breach While Working From Home?

One thing you can do that will significantly reduce your risk of a breach is the practice of segregating your network. Now, what does that mean? Instead of having one home network that you connect all of your devices to, consider having multiple different networks instead so that if one gets compromised, it won’t reach all of your devices. You may have one network specifically for work, one for your personal devices, and maybe one for your smart home devices.

Another thing you can do is reduce your exposure, and what we mean by this is to limit the number of apps you have or the amount of software you’ve installed as you may be leaving open doors for cybercriminals to enter from. Try to cut down on apps, accounts, devices, and software that you don’t need or use in order to reduce your risk of a breach.

At Cyber Unit, we monitor for cyber threats around the clock so you don’t have to constantly look over your shoulder. We’ve had so many individuals and businesses come to us after a breach who are now clients of ours. 

It’s not a matter of if you’ll get hacked, but rather when you’ll get hacked. We’re here to prevent these attacks and with our customizable and affordable protections plans, you’ll ultimately be saving yourself from a potentially costly disaster.