While there are a host of considerations in transitioning to a fully remote workplace—hardware, software, securing a connection, training employees, and maintaining productivity among them—perhaps the most pressing issue is protecting your company’s sensitive data.
Remote workplaces “may be prudent and advisable, but can inadvertently heighten the risk of data breaches or other cyber incidents, which in turn can lead to substantial financial loss, reputational harm, and legal exposure,” wrote the firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in its Coronavirus Resource Center blog.
A completely remote workplace also opens up a myriad of cyber-security risks that can be exploited by bad actors—from disgruntled employees downloading sensitive files to opportunistic hackers accessing your company network over unsecure home or public Wi-Fi signals. If more employees work remotely, chances escalate that company laptops, thumb drives, or other company data devices will be compromised. And remote work opens the door to phishing, spoofing, and other scams that attempt to convince employees to grant server access or authorize transactions, according to the Paul Weiss blog…
