Remote working brings more threats to network security

With more businesses encouraging staff to work from home to save on overheads, companies are being warned that remote working employees can present a very real security threat.

According to research by Symantec into small businesses’ attitudes to security, British small businesses are among the most vulnerable. 25% of UK respondents admitted that a recent security breach resulted in a tangible loss of business, with 13% saying that they had also suffered a monetary loss. These figures are significantly than the European averages of 17% and 8% respectively.

A Virtual Private Network for remote working increases risks to network

It is one thing to secure your office network, but yet another to introduce a virtual private network (VPN) and remote working. Any remote devices that connect to organizations infrastructure carries a greater risk of infecting the network or becoming compromised.

Connecting via public internet routes also allows a greater opportunity of malware exposure i.e. computer viruses, worms, spyware or Trojan horses. These routes do not provide any pro-active content scanning to track the malware and alert the user to the potential problem.

So, what can firms do to help themselves in these situations? Guy Bunker, Chief Scientist, Symantec, has some advice for small businesses;

• Businesses need to educate their employees as to the potential dangers, especially when it comes to connecting to the corporate network from public places, such as coffee shops and airport lounges, there are an increased number of dangers when connecting over wireless networks. In essence, if you are not sure, then don’t connect.
• In order to make it safer, ensure that employees have up-to-date endpoint protection installed. This includes anti-virus, anti-phishing and importantly, intrusion detection and prevention.
• To be really secure and make sure that your data is not being ‘sniffed’ by other near by, look at a Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution. These secure all the traffic coming to and going from the employee system to the corporate network.
• A VPN allows users to use their own systems from home to connect securely and it isn’t cost prohibitive, even for the smallest of businesses. There are a number of good Open Source solutions that enable small businesses to protect their network, data and employees.