NC May-Jun 2020

FEATUREREMOTE WORKING
loss protection is key, as now the corporate
machine is most likely to be exposed to
threats upon the home network. Finally,
protecting the endpoint is not just about
cybersecurity, but also physical security.
Ideally, the same policies should be
executed at home, such as screen locking,
invoking MFA for laptop access and
securely storing the laptop when not used.
USER ACCESS
To enable remote working, users require
access to applications. Typically, access
is granted with a username-password
combination. However, multiple
applications require users to remember
multiple passwords which, if they forget,
can lead to locked accounts or end up with
users writing them down. A single sign-on
solution (SSO- identity provider) can
resolve most of these issues, but ideally
multi-factor authentication (MFA) should
augment the login process, as an SSO
solution allows a single password to access
a plethora of applications.
EMAIL SECURITY
All too often email security solutions allow
a phishing or similar bad email to be
delivered to a recipient. These may have
a bad payload or embedded link to a
compromised site. Hackers are getting
more imaginative on setting up new email
domain and locations, in order to send
their spam messages. The best piece of
advice is, if in doubt, delete the email. If it
is someone you do not know or conduct
business with, delete the email. If the sender
persists, pass it to your IT security team who
can check the message for validity.
Aside from the technical working
environment, the physical working
environment also needs to be considered.
The level of focus that employees have in
an office takes time to develop in a home
environment: patience, dedication and
routine are not achieved overnight. The
home environment can provide
distractions you might not otherwise have
in the office, which can lead to human
error. You attach the wrong version of a
file, or send it to the wrong person, and
there is the breach. That's how data leaks.
It is a situation that is less likely to happen
in an office, as there is less distraction.
Hence, alongside antivirus and endpoint
protection, businesses also need data
governance and data loss prevention
solutions. Generally, employees are not
focused on security when doing their job
and that is understandable. Lack of focus
on security is even more prevalent in
environments when they are juggling
several other priorities at once.
This is why tools that can enforce and
educate the security policy interactively are
so much more important. By controlling
what users can access and then, in turn,
what they can do with that data once they
receive access, you can ensure that it is
not going to be subject to those minor
human errors. This can stop the accidental
attachment of the wrong version of a file,
provide a reminder to check the recipients
of an email and stop data transfer to
external media to work on it on home
devices, all of which can help prevent
breaches.
Finally, having clear, defined policies and
guidelines for staff ensures a smooth and
trouble-free remote working deployment.
Provide education sessions to reinforce safe
working practices from time to time and
support staff who are completely new to
this concept. Teach them about physical
security, as well as cybersecurity, as they
both go hand in hand with a successful
remote access strategy. Lastly, detail a
simple escalation path for when things may
and do go wrong. In this way, mitigation
steps can be applied quickly and any
potential damage is limited.
Remote working during the current time
is essential and highly beneficial, so the
need to ensure your business is secured
during this time is crucial. NC
Phil Underwood, Chief Information Officer,
SecurEnvoy
Chris Cassell, Technical Specialist,
SecurEnvoy
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MAY/JUNE 2020 NETWORKcomputing 29