COMPUTER SECURITY: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TELEWORKING

Teleworking is on the rise. But beyond its many practical aspects, what about IT security? Some tips and points of vigilance to avoid pitfalls.

Teleworking is attracting more and more employees in the private sector. Nevertheless, working from home inevitably raises the question of computer security. To avoid any danger, here are some cybersecurity measures to put in place for your teleworking employees.

Teleworking and cybersecurity: challenges to be met

The many advantages offered by working from home are actually tending to attract more and more workers. However, computer security issues still contribute to fueling employers' reluctance to work from home.

To fully exploit the advantages of teleworking, it is therefore necessary to take the appropriate measures to best secure the data and anticipate the risks of cyberattacks. Ultimately, the challenge is to secure the workstations of teleworkers as well as the workstations installed in the company's premises.

In the office as in telework, priority to secure networks

Although working from home is in a familiar environment, it is essential to pass work data through secure virtual private networks (VPN). VPN networks are designed to connect company computers directly to those of teleworkers. This precaution prevents data from being directly intercepted as is the case on unprotected internet networks.

In addition, the computers of teleworkers must benefit from the same protection measures as those of the company's IT equipment, with antivirus software and other threat detection tools.

Use a single, secure terminal for professional activities

To avoid risks in terms of IT security, it is essential that your employees work on their professional terminals, previously validated by your service provider or IT department. Indeed, the multiplication of non-compliant terminals in terms of security to access professional data increases the risk of cyber-attacks.

Access to data must also be strengthened. The use of an identifier and a password to secure the computer is necessary, so that no third party or person close to the teleworker can use this workstation.

Make teleworkers aware of risky IT behavior

Finally, we must not forget that the best material protection will not be immune to faults of human origin. Raising teleworkers' awareness of good cybersecurity practices must therefore also be carried out at the same time for effective security.

Also make sure that your teleworking employees have direct, competent contacts available 24 hours a day, to whom they can turn if in doubt about the security of their IT system. In the event of a cyber-attack, contamination from one workstation to another, even remotely, can be extremely rapid.

Another tip: set up an IT security charter to maximize the vigilance of teleworkers. It may include warnings about risky behavior that could lead to security breaches.

By way of example, this IT security charter may thus include the following recommendations:

·    Prohibit any sending of professional mails and / or files via personal messaging to reduce the risk of information leaks;

·    Avoid any connection to unreliable public WiFi. It is also preferable to opt for a wired connection;

·    Do not give access to your professional computer to those close to you to avoid the risk of improper handling;

·    Take the time to regularly update the security settings;

·    Avoid the use of external devices for data transfers knowing that USB drives and external hard drives can easily be infected with malware.

Just by adopting these best practices, many IT security risks can be avoided!