By: Matt Rosenthal, President & CEO of Mindcore
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he last time that I wrote an article for the UTCA, it focused on the IT fundamentals that your firm needs to grow. It acknowledged that many businesses see technology as a necessary evil but focused on the potential that technology had for scaling your business. Then COVID-19 happened. Investing in technology is no longer an option in this new world where working remotely seems to be the norm for businesses that plan to succeed. A survey done by Lenovo reported that people in the United States have personally spent an average of nearly $350 each to upgrade or improve their work-from-home situation. While the investments by employees and companies alike intended to improve productivity and communication are crucial towards any business’ survival, they can only go so far if you’re not factoring in security. Consider this: security company Morphisec and the Ponemon Institute found the average cost of a successful cyber-attack was $8.9 million in 2019. IT research firm Gartner found that the average cost of your network being down is $5,600 a minute. Now these numbers may not represent your company’s personal costs, but do you really want to find out? So, what can we do to ensure long term that your data infrastructure is flexible, scalable, and secure enough to thrive as you plan and strategize for your business? Here are Mindcore’s seven simple recommendations that should be the foundation of your employee’s remote-work security. Top 7 Cybersecurity Tips for Employees Working from Home Make a Space at Home Exclusively for the Office The number one piece of advice. By isolating a space within the house or apartment that is designated for work, people can prevent stray use of their computer, maintain security standards, and increase productivity by limiting outside influences. Since those who are in heavy, highway, utility, or marine construction are often on the go, companies should seriously consider affordable, company-issued laptops and other mobile devices that can be controlled and kept up to correct security standards. Do Not Think That Home Is Safe
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cybersecurity and it budgeting for the Remote workers Conditioning the workforce to believe that cybersecurity at home is just as important as at the office helps ensure a secure mindset. Home networks can be easily susceptible to hacking attempts, especially in highly populated areas. Make Your Wi-Fi Secure Every person in your company should be using a Wi-Fi connection that requires a password of at least 12 characters, including a mix of letters, characters, and numbers. For those who are using a mobile data connection, a VPN when accessing sensitive information can be a simple solution. Use an Antivirus Solution that Works When it comes to antivirus, any solution is better than nothing, even if it’s out-of-the-box. For those who want to take an extra step, next-gen antivirus solutions are now available that use AI to consistently stay up to date with any current security threats. Always Log Out of Your Computer or Lock the Screen For those with kids, this is particularly important. Preventing access eliminates the possibility of any misguided website visits. Multi-Factor Authentication Login processes that require more than one step have a major impact on ensuring that no one can breach your business’ operations. Be Wary of All Emails During COVID-19 During health scares or other major events, scams increase in frequency. Drill into your workforce the concept that they must be especially sensitive to out-of-the-norm e-mails and follow company protocol for using VPN or a secure connection to access data. What UTCA Leaders Can Do to Future-Proof Their IT and Cybersecurity Your IT department needs to be consistently training your employees on the dangers of risky behavior. Also, solving current IT
Utility & Transportation Contractor | OCTOBER| 2020 55
