Using Cloud Solutions to Address the Security Risks of Remote Work

For many workers in Florida, the ability to work remotely is a lifesaver—literally. It allows them to do their jobs while minimizing their likelihood of contracting COVID-19.

Remote work, however, can pose serious security risks for your business and its data. On the upside, there are always cloud solutions—some of which you’re probably already familiar with—that you can use to address these threats.

Remote work can become problematic because of a number of factors, including the behavior of your off-site team and the technology they’re using to perform their tasks.

Below are four examples and how they can be remedied with the right cloud solutions.

1. Weak passwords

A lot of users do not use strong passwords to protect their online accounts. The same could be true for some people in your remote team. In fact, the problem is so common that weak passwords are among the leading causes of hacking-related data breaches.

If your cloud-based tools support multifactor authentication (MFA), you should activate the feature. You can’t be sure about your team members’ password habits, but the additional authentication factors required by MFA will be hard for hackers to break. Microsoft has even confirmed that MFA can help prevent 99.99% of hacking incidents.

Another solution is to use a cloud-based solution that uses identity provider (IdP) integration. IdP integration ensures that remote workers do not have to memorize a lot of passwords, but your data remains secure.

Make sure the solution uses reliable IdPs, though. PaperSave, for instance, integrates with first-rate IdPs like Google Accounts, Windows Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, and others.

2. Bring your own device (BYOD) arrangements

Many remote workers use their personal devices to carry out their tasks. While this strategy can save your company a lot of money, what your employees do with their devices outside of work may compromise your data’s security. If they download malware-laden content, both personal and company files may get infected at the same time.

One effective workaround is to have your team use virtual desktops. These desktops are hosted on the cloud and are accessible through a web browser. Once they log in, the desktop provides access to all the apps and files they need. It feels like they’re using your office computer, even though they’re using their personal device.

Hosted desktops do not use up the computing resources, including storage space, of the devices used to access them. This keeps business files and your employees’ personal files separate, with the former unlikely to be compromised by any malware in the latter.

3. Lost documents

If your operations still depend heavily on paper documents, then you’re very likely to face problems with remote work. For instance, if your accounts payable team works remotely, paper invoices will need to be delivered to them via courier. Such a method is both slow and risky as the documents could end up lost, damaged, or in the wrong hands.

The obvious remedy is to go paperless. Cloud-based paperless solutions, such as document management systems (DMS), let you process digital versions of important documents.

These digital versions are easily delivered to their intended recipients. You can attach them via email or you may even invite colleagues or clients to view or modify them in real time.

4. Phishing scams

The number of phishing scams increased by over 600% in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, putting them among the biggest threats to both remote workers and your data.

Unfortunately, these scams have become more sophisticated and harder to identify with some even passing themselves off to their victims as coming from organizations as trusted as the WHO.

Most phishing scams are launched to steal login credentials, so implementing stricter authentication methods should be an effective counter. If your cloud tools allow you to set access permissions on particular documents for specific users, do so.

Even if unauthorized users do manage to penetrate your systems using stolen credentials, pairing 2FA or MFA with permissions management will severely limit the amount of data these intruders can access.

Cloud solutions can empower a business not just by helping it become more efficient, but also by boosting its defenses against security risks. PairSoft takes full advantage of the power of the cloud to ensure that our clients’ remote work strategies are secure and successful. Learn more by scheduling a free personalized demo today.