Executive Summary

Since the initial Covid-19 outbreak, the nation’s workforce had to learn to quickly learn to adapt to the ever-changing rules and continuous lockdowns. The mass migration to remote working is something that had never been seen before, and whilst we have become more used to the idea nearly a year on, it is still important for UK organisations to remain prepared and vigilant with their cyber security.

Many cybercriminals will take advantage of the situation, seeing it as an opportunity to increase the frequency and severity of their cyber hacking, especially as many workings access systems remotely.

Stay savvy against cyber threats with our top tips on preparation and defence to keep you and your workforce secure whilst working from home:

Laptops & Tablets

Whether your workforce is provided with equipment, or rely on using their own devices, make sure they remain secure by installing a reliable anti-virus product that is regularly updated. Ensure device encryption is enabled on laptops and other devices to protect any data from unauthorised access.

Home Routers

Protect home routers from cyber attack by changing the admin login from the default details and also change the router name so the router’s make and model is not easily distinguishable. A further way to protect private data is to consider setting up a guest network for personal devices to keep your work network separate and protected in case the home network is hacked and ensures any sensitive and private work data remains private. Logging in as an admin to check how many devices are connected to your Wi-Fi network is another great way to monitor you has access and who has had access historically.

Beware of Covid-19 scam emails!

When working from home, email is heavily relied on as the main communication tool between colleagues, suppliers and customers. Cyber attackers can exploit this by pretending to be someone else with a credible-looking message asking for login details. Employees should never need to share private login details, so make sure they are educated to treat emails of this nature suspiciously and advice them to contact a line manager or IT team for assistance.

Act Fast

Like physical viruses, a computer virus can spread quickly unless it is contained and killed. When working from home, make sure your workforce know who needs to be informed if they suspect a cyber attack, so it can be dealt with as efficiently as possible. Your businesses should have an incident reporting process in place to effectively deal with the issue, however, it is important that your staff all know how to quickly spot any issues and report security problems in a timely manner.

Regular training

Working from home can put staff in a more vulnerable position when it comes to cyber attacks, especially if they are not properly trained. CSA is dedicated to helping businesses increase their cyber security awareness, particularly as Covid-19 continues to be ever-present. Regular training keeps your employees vigilant so they are more likely to spot any suspicious activity before it becomes costly a costly problem. We offer a wide range of cyber security e-learning courses that are ideal for home working - find out more here.