cybersecurity and it budgeting for remote workers

cybersecurity and it budgeting for the Remote workers

By: Matt Rosenthal, President & CEO of Mindcore

The 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

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

problems with duct tape, rather than a proper solution, is a mistake. You are setting yourself up for failure if you think that your IT can run on auto-pilot year after year, without a tech roadmap that allows your business to be flexible and scale its growth. COVID-19 has been a sad and painful reminder for businesses that the unexpected can and does happen, and the impact to an unprepared business can be costly. By far the number one lesson that we have seen unfold in 2020 is that having a technology strategy, a plan, and a team that can be trusted to execute it should not be an afterthought; it’s a requirement for every business. If you aren’t sure where your firm stands, the best advice I can give is to find a trusted advisor that can help you take a look under the hood and give you guidance in a way that you can apply to your business plans.

Take Inventory of Both Your Hardware and Your Processes

When working remotely or from home became a necessity and not an option, your company may have been one of the 50% to initiate new work-from-home ITSM (IT Service Management) policies. Chances are they were made hastily and relied on pre-existing technology or tech personally owned by the employee. Your IT team has likely seen a surge in reactive support requests, leading to significant additional costs from both servicing and company downtime.

Let’s calculate those costs: how much money has truly been spent on providing each employee with support? How much longer are tasks taking now that you are outside of a centralized workspace? How would that compare to a new company-issued computer with security protocols established by your IT team, enhanced by improved remote support capabilities?

At the same time, what are the common pain points your employees consistently experience that prevent timely completion of IT-influenced tasks? How are files being organized? Is there one uniform system for project management? Are your teams able to access data reliably and securely while on site of the project? Is data being backed up correctly and are employees ensuring that they aren’t saving company data to local computers hard drives? There are many more questions that should be asked and answered to ensure that your company’s data and other assets are being managed and protected wisely.

Focus Your Budget on the Three C’s

Cybersecurity. Cloud. Collaboration. Just focusing on one or two is impossible in today’s modern landscape.

Cybersecurity costs are going to have significant variation depending on company size and industry requirements. You may already be paying for basic antivirus software and data encryption for compliance, but how do you keep control in a decentralized workspace? Companies need to look at the benefits that AI and machine learning of next-gen antivirus software provide, as well as invest time on company security protocols like two-factor authentication(2FA). Working without outside help to create a cybersecurity framework has the potential to leave you vulnerable or reduce time that can be spent on productivity.

Investing in a cloud service such as Amazon Web Services or a hybrid cloud solution that fits your firm’s size and business needs is essential as we all must now be equipped to work remotely with confidence. You might have been thinking about migrating to the cloud prior to 2020, but it’s essential that this be a discussion as your firm prepares for 2021 and beyond. As we have seen with some of our clients who work in construction, having held off on a cloud migration left some of them down for weeks as they scrambled to put remote work solutions in place just so they could connect the systems housed in the office’s IT closets. Construction firms we serve who had moved to the cloud in 2019, some of whom belong the UTCA, flawlessly navigated the remote work experience without missing a beat. Another recent event that impacted remote workers was the storm that caused massive power outages across Northern NJ. Firms already in the cloud were fine, but others were down for days, losing revenue and falling behind on work.

What are the needs of your business? Are you just needing a place to store your files and video conference? Or do you have multiple software products from multiple vendors for multiple departments? Remote work has the tendency to highlight flaws in your workflow, meaning that costs can be saved by working with someone familiar with your industry and software needs. They can then prepare a fully fleshed-out solution such as Microsoft Teams.

Don’t Be Afraid of Budgeting the Fourth C - Consultation

We’ve sat across the table from UTCA members in the past and listened to the multitude of technological nightmares keeping them up at night. You’re not alone, and the truth is that your cybersecurity and IT roadmap can be clear as day within a week.

Does your company need a staffed IT Director or just guidance and advisory services? Can outsourcing cover your IT needs at a reduced cost? What’s the best way for your company to routinely audit your security? Do you have a cloud strategy and a plan yet? It is important to have the information that will help lead you to sound decisions and give you the perspective that enables you to be prepared. Also, important to consider is that when people start consistently working outside of the office, they become more self-reliant and start doing things their own way. Please make it a point to educate your workforce and ensure that everyone is working within the framework of your processes and workflows.

In a time of uncertainty for many businesses, no IT solution is going to be one-size-fits all, which is why I never come prepared to talk through only one solution. But what we will always provide for you at the end of the day is peace of mind and the knowledge that you’re set up with a solution that provides you with long-term stability, scalability, and security.

Please visit our website at https://mind-core.com/ or you can reach us at (973) 630-0255 or by email at info@mind-core.com for more information.