How can we ensure secure remote access for our employees?

Remote work has become more common in the past few years. Many people have found remote jobs enjoyable and productive. Similarly, SMBs are considering letting employees work remotely. In that case, securely providing remote access to employees is essential. This shift from on-site to remote work has opened up several security concerns. SMBs may have neglected some best practices while allowing remote work for employees. This article will help you understand what you should review to ensure that your business's data is secure.

Significance of Remote Access for Employees

Remote work has become widespread in the digitalized SMB work environment. It has offered multiple benefits. Employees can work from anywhere, which has increased productivity and flexibility. SMBs can hire employees from different locations, which increases diversity.

Remote access has reduced costs related to workspace, commuting, and utilities, making it a cost-effective solution for small and medium-sized businesses.

Securely Give Remote Access to Employees

1. Set Up Access Controls and Permissions

SMBs must ensure that only necessary employees have access to certain parts of the network. So, it is necessary to execute RBAC (role-based access controls). This helps ensure employees can only access the data relevant to their jobs. Learn more about RBAC from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Companies can give admin access only to employees who need it. It is essential to review access permissions and logs periodically to ensure that employees still need access.

2. Remote Data Security

Select which employees are eligible to work remotely and what systems/software should be available. Most employees are loyal to their companies and would never intentionally cause a data breach. However, regardless of good intentions, employees are the top source of data security breaches. Here are some quick ways to implement data security practices:

• Implement security protocols via IT procedures and policies.
• Set up VPN access (this always helps). Ensure all devices have activated software and firewalls. For more on VPN and endpoint security, check out Cisco’s guide.
• Ensure all devices have activated software and firewalls.
• Educate employees on how and where to save data.

If SMBs are working with sensitive information, they can hire an IT service provider to help set up remote access for employees.

3. Update, Monitor, and Maintain

Sometimes, even the most secure system can become weak if it is not monitored, maintained, or updated. The remote access solution for SMBs should make it easy to monitor access and update systems whenever a remote connection is activated. This will also help update software installations and device status. Hackers easily target outdated software, so update systems regularly. While providing remote access to employees, it is also necessary to educate them on how and where to store data and how to secure devices. SMBs must also instruct employees to follow the same processes at home that they do on-site. Moreover, it is essential to track the inventory and provide clear and concise logs on sessions, changes, and file transfers.

4. Create an Endpoint Protection

To safely provide remote access to employees, SMBs should manage network security by creating endpoint protection. This requires the following steps:

• Set up access for (SecOps) security operations personnel.
• Ensure software updates are minimal.
• Update virus protection and malware protection.

Additionally, SMBs can ask employees to provide their home networking kits. This will help develop standard configurations and establish software levels for home networks and broadband providers that employees use.

Conclusion
To sum up, remote access boosts SMBs' productivity and flexibility. Hence, it is essential to secure access to protect businesses from theft and cybercrimes. As the digital world becomes more prevalent, SMBs need to keep their security policies and disaster recovery plans up-to-date. Since cybercrimes and phishing are not new to remote work, employees can get careless while working from home. According to sources, half of all data security breaches happen via malware or phishing. If employees are aware of these threats and know how to react to them, they can be your first line of defense.