Cybersecurity in Remote Working

Cybersecurity in remote offices/ Cybersecurity in the home office
The unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic has brought about a shift in the conventional working
environment. Many building offices have been closed down because of the coronavirus restrictions.
Offices are no longer fully functional either because the company has cut down the number of employees
who are physically reporting for duty or the employees themselves now opt to work in isolation for their
health. Either way, organizations are now faced with the challenge to ensure continued revenue
generation without having employees coming together in one place. It did not take long that many
organizations began to adopt the concept of working from home. This approach enabled organizations to
continue business operations with many of their employees working from their homes. While research
indicates that remote working has enhanced organizational efficiency, it also goes without saying that
setup has introduced new avenues for malicious cyber actors. The swift move towards remote working by
many organizations was a hurried decision to keep business operations alive. The sudden spike of the
virus infections did not allow decision-makers to adequately plan and test cybersecurity measures hence
there was not enough time to assess the cyber risks that are associated with remote working. As a result,
remote working has exposed many organizations to vast cyber risk which could have been avoided if
there had been ample time to consider and analyze remote working before the adoption of the principle.
Unlike the office networks that are well protected by security systems, the home networks that employees
will be using to access the organization are not as secure. If an attacker can intrude into the employees’
home network it brings him a step closer to the company’s network. Therefore in such a scenario, the
cyber defense of the company is only as strong as the employees’ home network. The advances in
technology have led to a widespread of smart homes. Smart homes utilize insecure Internet of Things
(IoT) devices which will be connected to the very same network an employee will be using to connect to
the company’s server back at the office. An attacker can exploit vulnerabilities within IoT devices such
as default user credentials and unpatched operating systems to gain unauthorized access to the home
network and subsequently the office network. The attacker could also leverage the processing power of
the IoT devices and form bot networks that will be used to perpetrate more sophisticated cyberattacks on
network office resources. With more employees working from home, it has been challenging for
organizations to provide mobile devices that employees can use to connect to the cooperate network.
Such a situation results in scenarios where employees opt to use their devices. Personally owned devices
lack security software that would be for example found on a company-owned laptop. Such BYOD
policies expose organizational information. For instance, an attacker can socially engineer any user who
has access to the home laptop that an employee is using to access company data. Once the attacker has
gained access to the laptop he or she will be a step closer to the company’s systems. The primary target of
social engineering attacks is users or employees. An uneducated workforce puts the organization at more
risk of social engineering. Whereas regular cybersecurity awareness and training are critical in the fight
against social engineering. Through efficient cybersecurity awareness programs, organizations can
enhance their defense against social engineering attacks.
The remote working set up has brought notable benefits to businesses during the lockdown restrictions.
However, the system also has a downside in terms of cybersecurity. The use of secure connections such
as VPN connections should be implemented for all users connecting to the company’s network from
home. The remote connections from home to the office should also be coupled with multifactor
authentication to prevent unauthorized access. Technological controls are a pivotal aspect of an
organization’s cyber defense. However, without effective user training, technological controls cannot be
as effective as they are in part controlled and monitored by human beings.

Cybersecurity in Remote Working

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Cybersecurity in remote offices/ Cybersecurity in the home office

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