During this unprecedented time, thousands of employees and employers are working from home. Whilst this precaution has been implemented for the safety and well-being of all persons due to the Coronavirus outbreak, this does pose some security risks for you and your business.
H&A Protection Services head office in Preston is currently closed, however, our management team is working tirelessly behind the scenes at home to ensure our staff and clients assets are safe and secure. We are able to do so by ensuring our employees, devices and company infrastructure are safe from cyber threats. We thankfully work closely with The Hook Design and Express I.T to ensure our website is fully functional and our management team can access all the vital documents needed from the comfort of their own homes.
Our advice to fellow employers is to ensure you follow some handy tips including using strong, regularly updated passwords. It should go without saying, but enforcing the use of strong passwords are the most basic steps to protecting devices and data. This is especially true when devices are leaving your place of work.
Secure your office and physical assets the best you can. Whilst taking laptops and important documentation from your office may be of ease, it is rare to ensure all your assets and information are clear of your premises. Think about your CCTV monitoring – who is your first responder should a theft occur? Is it worth adding different layers of security to your vacant premises? H&A can offer; remote CCTV monitoring, alarm response, mobile patrols, manned guarding or canine support solutions – to name a few – all whilst adhering to the social distancing and isolation advice. We protect your assets and buildings without you having to leave isolation.
Communication is key at a critical time like this. For many, the transition to working from home will be disruptive for both employees and the management structure. The transition could come with its own distractions which could lead to staff not following general guidelines or company security policy. Sending a message to your team to remind them of security policies may go some way in making them think twice before installing that browser plugin or clicking a malicious link.
Other security measures that can aid you working from home include limited use on open WiFi networks, ensuring anti-virus security is up to date and encrypting hard drives. All advice can be found online to guide you through such processes. Finally, H&A are thankful to all our security teams on the ground as front-line key workers who are doing an outstanding job of ensuring customer relations, safety and the security of customers, clients and assets. Our management team are still working hard behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of schedules, pay runs and full satisfaction of new and existing customers. In a time of uncertainty, stay home where you can, stay safe and check up on the vulnerable and those in need.