About a decade ago, I witnessed the worst work blunder I have seen to this day. An employee far down the ladder at the company I then worked for used to allow his wife to use his work laptop when he wasn’t using it. I don’t really know what she did, but somehow she managed to leak all the company’s customer information to hackers.
Now, this employee shouldn’t have had all that information at his disposal. And he definitely shouldn’t have let his wife use his work laptop. But that’s the way things go. You can have antivirus software, but human error can render it irrelevant.
That said, there is some software that protects your employees even from themselves. Use these two important tips to ensure the security of your employees and your business.
A Good VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) is important for any internet user, but especially so for anyone using a work computer. A VPN will hide your location and encrypt your data no matter where you are. But there are circumstances in which it is more important than ever.
When it comes down to it, your team members shouldn’t be allowed to use public WiFi, as that is when they are most vulnerable. However, if you give them access to an easy to use VPN that can be on all the time, they will be protected even if they decide to go online at a coffee shop.
You can start with a free VPN service if you don’t want to commit before seeing how it works.
Password Managers
If you were to be asked what the worst password possible is you would probably say “password” or “1234567”. Unfortunately, the same answer applies to the question of which passwords are most common. Yes, people still make password mistakes that should have been rooted out decades ago.
To be fair, security experts haven’t made it easy. Over the years, we’ve been told to use increasingly difficult combinations. The only problem is the difficulty applies to humans and not to the software that hackers use to decipher passwords. We have had to create more and more passwords for various accounts, and eventually, everyone reverts to the name of their long-dead dog or high school crush.
Password managers take all the work out of creating and remembering passwords. Not only do they safely store your passwords for you, but they generate strong ones in the first place. Strong passwords not according to the outdated password regulations but according to standards that actually make a difference.
No matter how secure your system is, one team member using a laughable password can let hackers right in. By having them use password managers, they no longer have the ability to make those mistakes.
Human error is responsible for major security breaches every year. By using these tips, you can ensure that carelessness cannot derail your business. Using VPNs and password managers, your team’s data will be more secure than ever.