While working remotely in Canada used to be considered a luxury, it has become a necessity due to the Coronavirus pandemic as employees worldwide practice self-isolation.
While you work remotely, you may experience new cyber security risks that may attempt to take advantage of you during these unprecedented times. Your home office security must be a top priority.
Remote working in Canada presents its own set of security risks. These tips will help you secure sensitive information and protect yourself and your business from cyber security threats.
- Use trustworthy antivirus software
When these attacks are successful, they could leave you, your workers, and your business open to malware, ransomware, and spyware attacks.
Antivirus software takes the most difficult work off your hands by providing automatic remote working security against various threats.
In addition to completely fighting online security threats, an antivirus also automatically updates itself to remain on top of new and emerging security threats.
It runs secretly in the background of your other operations, so you’ll not even notice that it’s there.
- Safeguard your router
Attackers seek ways to exploit passwords on home routers because most people don’t change them. This leaves the home network vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
It is simple to change the default password on your router to something difficult to guess. You’ll protect your home network from malicious actors who want access to your devices when you do this.
- Protect sensitive information
When you need to transfer confidential files from your office to your home, keep them out of sight and under lock and key. If you don’t have a file cabinet at home, keep the files in a locked room.
- Be cautious when creating passwords
In our digital age, we have passwords for almost everything – from banking apps to social media accounts – there are several passwords you have to manage.
Most people use the same password for all their accounts because they feel like it’s easier to remember. But doing this is an open invitation to be hacked – on all your accounts.
Some other people use passwords that are easy to guess – such as their nicknames, anniversary date, date of birth, birthdays of family members, and worst – 12345.
Your passwords are the first things that reveal your identity online. If a hacker manages to breach them, that could cause you big trouble.
There are several attacks that hackers can use to access your passwords, such as credential stuffing, brute force attacks, or hash cracking.
- Don’t overshare your screen
As you take meetings or conferences online, be cautious when sharing your screen. If you don’t want to share a window, don’t leave it open. Someone could accidentally see it, and you’ll end up sharing something sensitive.
Although it seems awkward, it is a privacy concern. Be cautious enough to avoid oversharing content that is not meant to be seen by others.
- Verify your accounts
This should be the top priority of every employee in Canada, particularly those that work remotely. When it comes to personal information such as your banking details, private messages, and pictures on your social media accounts, authentication can make your accounts more secure.
Almost all social media platforms and cloud storage accounts provide two-factor authentication to users. This provides an extra layer of security to your accounts. This step shouldn’t be an afterthought. Sometimes attackers can use employees as bait to reach the confidential data of an organization.
- Back up your data
Some hackers use malware to perform ransomware attacks that could prevent businesses from accessing their systems unless they pay a ransom. Such attacks are getting more popular. According to research by IBM, those attacks have risen by 6,000 percent worldwide since 2016.
There have been more reports of ransomware attacks during the coronavirus pandemic because hackers are now targeting the IT systems of hospitals and healthcare providers.
- Never share personal information
Phishing is similar to scams. Never share your emails, messages, or information. Also, avoid sharing images of your home workspace on social media. You might end up accidentally sharing sensitive information.
- Always update your OS
To reduce the risk of cyber-attacks, make sure that your operating systems are up-to-date. A lot of modern devices will automatically update by default but you’ll have to restart your computer to complete the process.
- Enable automatic locking
Anytime you move away from your device; whether at the office, coffee shop, or home, you should lock it. We always forget to do this; this is why you should enable automatic locking to protect your devices. Ensure that you configure the time that will be most convenient for your device to lock.
Bottom Line
The internet is now a place rife with dangerous viruses, Trojans, and contacts. While developers are regularly coming up with newer ways of fighting against cyber-attacks, hackers are becoming more cunning.
Most Canadian businesses understand the importance of security measures. These cyber security tips will help you remain ahead of hackers and cyber-attackers.
Written By;
Senkat Nden
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