A new report has discovered that 67% of remote workers are using faulty tech when they work remotely and often that’s because they’ve accidentally damaged the tech themselves… they don’t want to admit it to their boss in case they get into trouble.

A company that sells refurbished technology surveyed 2,500 UK employees.

It found that laptops were most likely to be broken, followed by keyboards, monitors and PCs.

Most of the time the damage was done by spilled food and drink. Other causes of damage included other people in the house – such as a partner or housemates – and of course, pets.

We’ve all watched in horror as a cat brushes itself against a full glass of water next to a laptop…

While more than half of people try to fix the damage, and 81% of people continue to use their faulty device with limited features, a third of workers switch to their personal devices instead.

As well as this causing a loss of productivity, it could also be a huge data security risk for your business.

Because it’s possible their personal laptop doesn’t have as much security protection as their work laptop does, such as:

 

• Security software
• Data encryption
• Enhanced password protection such as multi-factor authentication

 

Their personal devices also aren’t being monitored by your IT support partner.

When an attacker gains access to an unmanaged device, if it’s connected to your network, it’s possible they can get access to the wider network, and all of your business’s data.

This can result in your data being stolen and sold. Or worse, your data being encrypted so it’s useless to you – and you must pay for its return. This is called a ransomware attack and it’s the greatest cyber security threat to your business right now.

It’s not just access to your data that’s the problem. After a ransomware attack, there is a huge time and financial cost involved in making sure your network is clean, protected and secured.

Our advice is to make sure that everyone in your business understands the risks involved with using personal devices for work purposes, whether they work remotely or not.

 

You might want to make a golden rule that all work must only be done on business devices.

 

You could also create a culture where it’s OK if a device gets damaged, so long as it’s reported quickly.

 

If you need any help choosing the right technology or cyber security approach for your team, or creating new policies to help your staff choose to do the right thing, give us a call.

 

 

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.

As a business owner today, you are now facing unprecedented challenges to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic. You are asked to self-isolate and practice social distancing to “flatten the curve.” You are asked to allow your employees to work from home to reduce possible exposure and slow the spread of COVID-19.

These are all reasonable requests. However, as a business owner you also need to maximize productivity, bring in revenue and try to grow your business in these demanding times. How can you accomplish these goals when your office is now a ghost town and productivity has fallen off a cliff?

The answer lies in setting up your office to function remotely. If you’ve never implemented a work-from-home policy before, it may seem like a whole different world. Managing an entirely remote workforce goes far beyond giving your employees a laptop and reminding them to check in every once in a while. After all, there are many factors most business owners haven’t ever had to consider, such as:

• What technologies do I need?
• How can my employees work from home without compromising the security of our network?
• How can I make this new work environment as easy, comfortable and productive as possible?

We understand these are unique times. We know that “business as usual” is going to be quite different for an undetermined amount of time. But together we can help you adjust to today’s new normal by giving you the tools, technologies and insights to create a secure and productive work-from-home business environment. Here are three important considerations to getting you set up and running a successful work-from-home business:

1. Avoid employees using home computers or devices. Their mindset may be, “Well, I’m working from home so I may as well use my home computer.” This is a dangerous mistake. Our team works hard to ensure your company computers and network are secure and protected from malware, viruses and cyber-attacks. Their home computers and devices could be littered with tons of downloaded music, videos, images and more. Because it’s more exposed, it can invite malware into your network. Rather, provide a company-approved and secured computer/laptop for employees to use at home.

2. Secure their WiFi access point. Without a secure WiFi access point, you’re essentially leaving a back door open to hackers. That’s because WiFi signals are often broadcast far beyond your employees’ homes and out into streets. Yes, drive-by hacking is popular among cybercriminals today. A few tips for securing your employees’ WiFi access points:

• Use stronger encryption and a more complex password
• Hide your network name
• Use a firewall

These security measures are not difficult to set up. But if you have any questions or need assistance, we will be happy to help get your employees set up remotely.

3. Use a two-factor authentication VPN. VPN stands for virtual private network. It’s essentially a private, encrypted tunnel that goes direct to your IT network in your office. Ideally, you’ll want your VPN to support two-factor authentication. This means it’s doubly secure because your employees will need to call in to access the network. If you don’t have a VPN for your employees to use, you can consider other services, such as Globalnet Connect, which we are currently offering FREE for two months.

As business owners ourselves, we too are having to pivot and work differently than we ever have before. However, because we have the technology and infrastructure in place, we are able to continue as normal, with little disruption to our usual service.

Our team wants to help your business survive and thrive during today’s unique environment. If you and your IT team need extra hands right now…or solutions to help your employees work SECURELY from home…we have software tools, expert staff and resources we’d like to offer you to keep your business as productive as possible.