By now, everyone is aware that COVID-19 caused an unprecedented increase in working from home, with about half of the American workforce still working remotely a year after the pandemic began. These conditions have made it easier than ever for hackers to successfully gather your information, with the FBI receiving almost twice as many reports of internet crime than in a typical year.
Offices are much better suited to implement security measures than individuals at home. A June 2020 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported that 45% of people working from home did not receive any work from home security training. This has led many hackers to take advantage of the situation, by making phone calls to employee help centers pretending to be locked out of accounts, and other similar tricks. Read on for some tips for reducing your risk of being hacked while working remotely.
Do Not Let Family Use Your Work Computer.
With children learning remotely and shopping mostly occurring online, almost 30% of workers report allowing family members to use their work laptop. Family members do not know how to identify fraudulent information like scam emails or free downloads. Do your best to use your work computer exclusively for your job.
Do Not Use Personal Devices for Work.
Similarly, you should try to only use company-issued devices while working. These devices most likely have more security features than your personal devices. Yet,more than half of remote workers report using personal devices while working from home. Additionally, use only company-approved USB devices for information storage.
Change your Passwords.
Many people use easy-to-remember passwords for their networks at home. However, while working from home it is more important than ever to change your passwords so they are harder to guess. This includes the password on your WiFi router and the password for your work laptop. Finally, ensure your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
For more information on how Simplicity can help your company and employees mitigate the hacking risks that come with working from home, visit our Cybersecurity Tips for Remote Workers blog today.
