With the COVID-19 pandemic still on where most people are now on lockdown and working from home, you need to be more cyber-secure as you are not within your office environment where you are protected by firewalls, anti-viruses and more.
Here are 10 ways to be Cyber-Secure when working remotely or working from home so that you don’t fall victim to cybercrime.
- You need to secure your Wi-Fi network: While at home using routers, you need to change the default credentials of the router. Most people do not know about this as they have never bothered about this since the router was installed. Most routers come with a default username and password you use to manage the router. These defaults aren’t even well kept secrets—a simple Google search will tell you the username and password for just about any router out there. Most often the installers use “admin” as the username and password. You need to change your Wi-Fi password and router password.
- Disable the “remote configuration” option on your router: Routers have a remote access option which installers use to manage the devices anywhere in the world. Please disable the remote access feature. Check the advanced settings of your router and confirm that any remote access tools are turned off.
- Disable WPS on your home internet devices: WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup. The WPS protocol is a popular network security standard used to create a secure wireless home network. The WPS button simplifies the process of connecting to a network without the hustle of typing complicated passwords (WPA/WPA2 encryption key). However WPS allows hackers to remotely control your home devices. Please check under settings and disable it.
- Use Antivirus and ensure it is updated regularly: When working in an office environment, you would most likely have access to antivirus facilities. However working from home may not avail you of the antivirus. Your employer may provide a recommended software for a company-issued device, but if you use your personal laptop for work, it’s important to keep your system protected. So please ensure you use an antivirus on your laptop and set it to auto-update.
- Watch out for insecure websites: I am referring to those website that do not begin with https: in their URLs. In fact when you go to those sites, you would most likely get browser warnings. Ignore at your own peril. So I would advise that you use HTTPS for sensitive communication. Always remember to check website addresses carefully for misspellings and oddly-placed characters. When in doubt, enter the URL in your browser manually.
- Ensure you keep tab on the number of devices on your Wi-Fi network: When using Wi-Fi at home, make a mental note of the number of devices on your Wi-Fi. If you inadvertently use a weak Wi-Fi password and people jump onto your network, you would easily know if you keep a regular check. A lot of people love hopping onto free Wi-Fi and this will definitely compromise the security and quality of your network. Check the number of devices on your Wi-Fi network regularly
- Protect your work password: Ensure no-one (children, spouses, other family members) knows your work password. This ensures that no one except you has access to your work-files as having unauthorised access could be dangerous.
- Practise password safety:
- Do not use personal information such as your name, age, birth date, child’s name, pet’s name, etc. Some people still use passwords like “123456”, “111111”, “abc123”
- Choose long passwords containing uncommon words.
- Avoid consecutive keyboard combinations— such as qwerty or asdfg. Do not use dictionary words, slang terms, common misspellings, or words spelled backward.
- Do not reuse of passwords across multiple sites
- Encrypt your devices to deter hackers or thieves: Encryption causes files to be unreadable without the correct key. Some devices offer the option to encrypt individual files or the entire device. Consider which solution suits your needs best.
- Back up your files regularly: This is helpful and comes in handy per adventure you fall victim to malware or hackers. You are advised to back up files to a removable device that can be locked away safely, such as an external drive or CD.
