Let?s review some of these factors. Personally-Owned Technology Just as in the workplace itself, personal devices are a major risk factor when an employee is working from home. Consider the activities that are typically done on a workstation, as compared to those that are typically done on the personal computer. They are very different. While a workstation generally requires access to a relatively limited number of resources, websites, and programs, a lot more is comparatively done on a personal device. Online shopping, casual browsing, and social networking are far more common, which can all open up a system to more threats. You also have to consider that the average employee isn?t going to be prone to securing their own devices? at least, not in comparison to how their workplace devices should be secured. Furthermore, because many employees are likely to use a personal device, they will need to have some means of accessing your company?s resources. This is commonly accomplished through the use of remote access software. However, this software is frequently targeted by cybercriminals, putting the company at risk. Insecure Connections On a related note, your employees are going to need access to your network in order to work remotely (or access to the Internet, at the very least). Yet, the same issue with personally-owned technology bleeds over into the connections that your employees use. Network connections in the home, as we?ve already established, simply aren?t going to be nearly as secure as the ones that are accessible in the office as the same standards aren?t being enforced. Budget routers and modems will typically feature a lack of integrated security and support from the manufacturer, as do the connected devices that are found everywhere nowadays. If this inherent insecurity isn?t resolved by additional measures and best practices, attackers can take advantage of it. Publicly-accessible hotspots and some home networks feature minimal protections and are therefore insufficient for professional use as well. Fake Wi-Fi networks are common amongst attackers as a means of fooling their targets into leaving themselves vulnerable. User Behaviors Finally, you also need to consider how your employees are treating their security. The concept of phishing attacks and spoofing isn?t exactly top-of-mind when someone is at home, but the threats are still there. You need to be sure that your team understands that all the same security policies and procedures are going to be in place while they work remotely, and actually become even more important. Unfortunately, while it is less common than one might initially assume, employee misconduct is something that needs to be considered whenever remote work is implemented. Whether an employee is slacking off throughout the day, or even going rogue, you need to be sure that your employees are sufficiently monitored to catch (and ideally mitigate) these threats. As a managed service provider, White Mountain IT Services is here to assist your business. That doesn?t change just because your team may not be in the office. For help in putting the solutions in place that can minimize these risks, reach out to our team at (603) 889-0800.
What follows are the measures that the major providers are now enacting via their offers to their customers. AT&T Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service AT&T hotspots are now publicly accessible Eliminated data caps and overage fees Comcast Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service Comcast hotspots are now publicly accessible Comcast?s 1TB data cap is paused Data speeds are boosted to 25/3 megabits per second All new and existing Internet Essentials customers get two months of complimentary service Spectrum Two months of 100Mbps broadband and Wi-Fi is free to households with kids still in school or college Spectrum hotspots are now publicly accessible T-Mobile (Including Sprint, Post-Merger) Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service Unlimited data and 20GB of hotspot data Free calls to select countries impacted by COVID-19 Verizon Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service for residences or small businesses Verizon hotspots are now publicly accessible The shift to 5G service has been accelerated Of course, there is no guarantee that these changes will continue once the coronavirus situation has been reduced or resolved. However, there is no telling how consumers will react to returning to how things once were–so there may be some prospect of these changes becoming a little more permanent. How has your business coped with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak? Tell us in the comments!
Crypto Ransomware Crypto ransomware works via a particularly insidious approach: it encrypts each of your files individually, ensuring that your access is completely blocked. Then, as any ransomware would, it starts a timer that counts down to when all of these files are set to be deleted. When someone is targeted by crypto ransomware, the only real option is to completely wipe the system and restore from a backup. We will never recommend that someone pays a ransomware demand, as there is no guarantee that even paying it will result in the return of your files. This is part of the reason that we always encourage businesses to keep a backup in the cloud. Extortionware AKA ?doxware,? extortionware operates similarly to how crypto ransomware does. Files are encrypted and payment is demanded, and the same general concepts bleed over. The big difference is that extortionware threatens to leak the encrypted data, rather than delete it. While the leverage this gives the attacker is pretty much the opposite kind than that of crypto ransomware, it has proven to be just as effective in convincing the target to pay up. Locker Ransomware This ransomware seals off access to the user?s entire system, doing nothing to the files themselves but rendering a device essentially useless, save for the capability to pay said ransomware?s demands. This makes it very similar to crypto ransomware, just without the threat of deletion. Scareware Scareware is named primarily due to the tactics it uses to infiltrate its victims? systems. Disguised as some kind of antivirus or other security program, scareware falsely alerts the target to issues present on the device and offers to resolve it for a fee. While not everyone feels that this technically classifies as ransomware, the undeniable similarity in their methods certainly links the two terms together. What You Can Do About It: Protecting your business from ransomware really boils down to a few key best practices: Educate your entire staff: Your team needs to know what to keep an eye out for to spot ransomware preemptively, and how to approach it in order to keep it from successfully taking root. Keep a backup: If ransomware does manage to encrypt your documents, you will want a backup ready to restore from. Update your software: Ransomware takes advantage of unpatched exploits in order to successfully infiltrate a system. Applying patches and otherwise updating your system can eliminate a lot of these weak points. An exploitative issue like ransomware will stoop to really low levels to carry out its mission. For instance, one in particular has been spotted and coined as CovidLock, as it capitalizes upon a malicious coronavirus tracking application installed on Android devices. However, you can have a reliable resource in your corner to help your business defend itself. White Mountain IT Services is ready to be that resource and reinforce your cybersecurity and attend to your other IT needs. Learn more by reading some of our other blogs and the other content on our website, or by talking to us at (603) 889-0800.
Creating a PDF Document There are a few ways to create a PDF, based on effectively any document you have. The simplest way is to start to ?print? whatever it is you want saved as a PDF, and select Save as PDF as your destination. Mind you, this does not give you the option to edit these PDFs. If you will need to do that while preserving the existing formatting, you will likely need to invest in a dedicated program, which we can help you do. Converting a PDF to a Google Doc or Microsoft Word Document Sometimes, a PDF may need to be edited–more specifically, the text on the PDF–which means that it might help to convert it to the file type that suits your program of choice. A quick disclaimer: in order to actually convert your PDFs to the Word format, you will need to pay for a subscription to either Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC. Once you have Acrobat installed, simply open the PDF you want to edit, click Export PDF, select Microsoft Word, and then select Word Document. Clicking Export enables you to save your new .docx file where you want it. From there, you are free to make any changes in Word before saving it as a PDF once again. Google Docs can actually open a simple PDF with little trouble, although elements like lists, tables, and footnotes can cause some difficulty. While in your Google Drive account, simply drag your PDF file into the location you want to upload it. Once it is uploaded, right-click it and navigate to Open with > Google Docs. Your newly editable file will be saved with the same name and extension, but a different icon. The few caveats: your document has to be oriented correctly for this to work, and common fonts (like Arial or Times New Roman) work best. For more handy tips, subscribe to our blog! To discuss any of your IT implementations with our professionals, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.
These statistics outline that by allowing employees to work from home, your company will see some very tangible benefits. Like any human resources strategy, however, you?ll need to keep a few considerations firmly in mind to get the most out of it. Treat It Like Business as Usual When you are working with your remote employees, it is important that you don?t focus exclusively on your in-house staff. Maintaining communication with every one of your staff is necessary for your operations to continue, so if anything, you need to encourage your in-house workers to regularly check in with your remote employees and involve them in their processes. You should also avoid the temptation to hold off on meetings. Again, don?t act like anything has changed as a result of your employees working from home. If you have regular meetings at a given time, continue them, and simply use the technology available today to include your remote staff members. Provide the Means to Communicate Speaking of which, it is also important that your remote team members have the tools that allow them to communicate with their contemporaries. If you haven?t already done so, consider switching your telephony to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution. This will enable your remote staff members access to your business? phone system, rather than using their own for professional purposes. Other useful collaboration tools include things like video conferencing, instant messaging, and (of course) business email. Give Them Access and Tools Your remote workers aren?t going to be capable of being productive if they don?t have access to the necessary resources and applications required to carry out their assigned tasks. Make sure they have this access, either by enabling remote access into their workstation or by providing them with a laptop that they can take with them. It is recommended that, if you elect to take the remote access option, this access is secured through the use of a virtual private network (or VPN). This tool ensures that whether your files and applications are stored on-site or in the cloud, that access to data is available from anywhere a connection can be established. Don?t Forget About Security It is critical for the health of your business that you uphold remote workers to a higher standard for data and network security. Remote work brings increased risk. Using the aforementioned VPN is just one of the many tools that will work to maintain the integrity of your business? digital assets. Another important security measure is to be sure that your remote users are forced into using password best practices for authentication. Some Suggestions: Hosted VoIP for using phones from any device and anywhere. A VPN for secure connections to the office network. Remote access policies to ensure compliance and security. Remote terminal access to keep files and applications centralized. Email accessibility for internal and external communication. Conferencing and meeting applications to keep your team engaged. Messaging applications to facilitate easy coworking. G-Suite/Office 365 for document publishing and collaboration. Disaster Recovery solution to prevent productivity-loss issues. Our IT professionals are here to help you extend the reach of your business and do it to ensure that your assets are protected. Reach out to White Mountain IT Services today to kickstart your remote workforce on a path to productivity. Call (603) 889-0800 to […]
