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Cyber Safe Remote Workplace with BYOD
Enable your employees to undertake work with their own computers using our Cyber Safe Remote Workplace Solutions
Establishing a Cyber Safe Remote Workplace With A Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) Business Model
Our Cyber Safe Remote Working Solutions can support your employees to work securely from home using their private computers and devices.
Our solutions are designed to mitigate the risks of cyber attacks while enabling employees, and businesses, to remain productive and operational in the event of an office closure.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) workplaces are common place for employees working from home with personal computers and devices or for contractors collaborating with teams.
While we will always advise that best practice is to provide all remote working employees with a company computer that is cyber secure, sometimes this is not feasible. Therefore, allowing staff and contractors to use their private computers to continue working may be the best solution for both businesses and employees.
Our Cyber Safe Remote Workplace Solutions enable employees to securely access and continue their work – while using their computer or device. Our system supports both businesses with remote connection access, as well as businesses that utilise cloud-based programs and applications.
For both situations, our team can:
Advise on the best option to ensure a cyber safe remote working system
for your unique situation and offer cyber security awareness training for employees
Establish cloud-based phone systems
so you can continue to communicate with your clients and employees
Review your inhouse computer security
(i.e. windows domain based) as this may no longer be active when transitioning to a complete remove workplace
Ensure appropriate backup procedures
are in place to recover local data that is created and lost due to either cyber attacks or human error
Consider licensing costs
if computers are set up with perpetual licenses or subscription licenses for regularly used programs (such as the Microsoft Office Suite)
Recommend appropriate internet speed
to ensure all employees are working from locations that have sufficient internet connection speed• Establish cloud-based phone systems so you can continue to communicate with your clients and employees
Implementing a cyber safe remote workplace with BYOD will vary for most businesses, therefore, we recommend getting in touch with us today so we can discuss your needs. Alternatively, review our Cyber Safe Remote Workplace Solutions and/or our Cyber Security Management System.
If your employees have access to business computers, see our Cybersafe Remote Workplace: Business Computers Solutions.
How can we create Cybersafe Remote working with BYOD?
There are two options that enable employees and contractors to work remotely with a BYOD business model:
Businesses that have established a terminal server will be in the fortunate position where all employees can access their ‘normal’ workplace computer via any laptop or desktop computer. This can be achieved by a Remote Desktop Terminal such as Teamviewer or LogMeIn. We still recommend all office-based computers implement the ACSC’s Essential 8 requirements, and all businesses implement strict Multi-Factor Authentication to access the server.
For businesses who are unable to provide employees with company provisioned devices and don’t have access to an inhouse server, working from home can only be achieved via the employee utilising their own private computer. This means employees will be logging into cloud-based applications (e.g. Xero, CRM Systems, Adobe Creative), using cloud-based document management systems (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive), and undertaking emails and work on Office 365. While there are large cyber security risks with this option, if this is the only option for your business in the short term, we can help. Our focus is to ensure your business is as protected as possible from cyber threats, while not impeding your employee’s personal and private computer use.
The need for more cyber security when working remotely with BYOD
The Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) has highlighted there is an increased risk of cyber attacks for Australian businesses working from home in the current climate stating that:
“Cyber security is essential when preparing for COVID-19. As more staff may work from home, and the use of remote access technology increases, adversaries may attempt to take advantage. ASD’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) encourages Australians to remain vigilant and ensure sound cyber security practices.”
For employees using their own computer to undertake work, cyber security risks are unfortunately even greater.
This is due primarily to the lesser cyber security systems that are in place for home computers vs office computers.
When implementing your cyber safe remote workplace with BYOD, here are a few key cyber threats to look out for:
Phishing emails sent to personal email accounts:
as many employees will access their personal emails on their home devices, malware can transfer from personal files to work files. Therefore, employee training is crucial to protect business data.
Secure Wi-Fi only
as tempting as it may be for employees to ‘get out of the house for an hour’ and work from a café, library or open space, it is vital they remain with a secure Wi-Fi connection to mitigate the risk of a hacker gaining accesses to the computer (and thus business data) through an unsecured network.
Signs of stolen data
when remote working, cybersecurity education is key. Employees need to be aware of what to look out for in the case of an attack. A quick response could save the company from becoming a victim of extortion.
We can support you to establish a secure Cyber Security Management System for your business needs – both in the office and whilst remote working with a BYOD business model.
See our Cyber Security Solution here.
