Could your children be a cyber threat?

Canon security expert Quentyn Taylor, Director of Information Security Canon, offers his top tips for staying safe, while working from home.

Electronic “phishing” for problems:

Cyber criminals are always lurking for new opportunities, and employees moving out of the company’s network are attractive targets.

According to new researches, there has been a significant increase in fake e-mails, which claim to offer important security updates, which instead infect the user’s device with malware.

Make sure that you are careful about e-mails offering this kind of advice, ensure that you check who the sender is, and that their email address matches exactly the expected recipient. And if someone asks you to click on an unknown link; think twice.

Lock your devices:

A professional risk of working from home is that your kids now have access to you while you’re working. They may well be curious about what mom or dad is doing all day, or they just want to search for something on Google.

Either way, they probably don’t know that your corporate computer is connected to your company via VPN.

So make sure you set limits, and that some computers and phones are out of use for kids.

Secure printing:

If you work from home, it probably means that you’ll be printing at home. However, you should be aware that your home printer is unlikely to have the security features provided by your corporate printers.

While only you and your family may exist at home, remember that if your printer is connected to the Internet, then it is more vulnerable to a possible attack. It must also be ensured that your network is private and can only be accessed with a secure password (not 12345).

The other issue is the safe destruction of documents. Just as you shouldn’t throw your bank statements in whole into outdoor trash cans, so should you not do with your business’s paperwork. Make sure you pass the pages from a shredder or burn them, eliminating any confidential information.

Stay updated:

Your organization probably handles updates to the devices you use for your work.

As you’re away from the company’s network, learn what’s needed to keep your equipment up to date.

For example, you might need to leave your laptop on overnight to get the necessary security, or Windows updates; your company will advise you on it.

If you’re using your personal devices, make sure you update them yourself to get the best security protection available.

Easy work:

Working from home can mean you’re wearing your everyday clothes, even your pyjamas, but that doesn’t mean you can ease the company’s policies.

Use only apps, networks, and cloud sites provided by the company. As tempting as it is, avoid free cloud software tools for collaboration and storage that haven’t been tested by your organization. It may be simple to use, but it may not be safe.

If you work from home, make sure you have a clear understanding of how to maintain the same level of security, whether you’re working from your office chair, or the sofa of your living room.

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