It is time to train your employee for safeguard your data when working remotely. First see what your team needs to work safely from home.

As any quick Google search will tell you, the chances of your business still being here 12 months after a cyberattack is less than 50%. Apart from the financial cost (an eye-watering average of $200, 000), there is the loss of trust with your customers or partners, putting you right at the bottom of the list of people they want to work with.

Before the current pandemic, only 14% of small businesses were equipped to deal with an online attack. That was before cybercriminals increased the number of attacks to take advantage of the upheaval caused by many companies moving to remote working.

With everything that is at stake, when it comes to the safeguard your data, there shouldn’t be any half measures. The steps you need to take as a business owner will vary depending on the amount of data held and the number of people who need to access it. The first of them will involve you looking at what your team needs to be able to work securely and safely from home.

Make all of the team aware of the threats

It is a sad fact that the majority of successful cyberattacks will be a result of human error. For this reason, your team needs to be aware of all of the cyber threats that could affect your business. They also need to be aware of what to do if they detect a possible threat and how to escalate it.

Information like this can be important for those who do not use their computers much outside work and might fear ridicule from the more ‘tech-savvy’ team members if they report something that is not a threat.

This is one of the many reasons you and your team should take part in security awareness training. You can click here to see an example of a comprehensive training program and what it involves.

Implementing this as an essential part of the transition to remote working would seem to be a critical part of keeping your business safe from a cyberattack.

Assess the effects of home working on your team

A lot has changed for your team now they are working from home. With little or no warning, they have moved from a secure office environment to working with all of the distractions you would associate with remote working. They are now trying to achieve the same results as they did in the office but also coping with partners, kids, pets, and the fact they may not even have a dedicated workspace.

You will need to understand the effect this will have on their productivity, both immediately and in the long term, and adjust deadlines accordingly. Failure to do so could put unnecessary pressure on your team and cause them to make rushed decisions or cut corners. Acting in this way may lead to quality issues and increase the chances of accidentally interacting with an infected email. Take the time to speak every member individually to assess their needs and requirements to ensure safety working from home.