Gone are the days of traditional nine-to-five jobs. Over the past several years, we’ve seen a continued surge in “work-from-anywhere” as many businesses, especially small- to mid-size ones, untether themselves from the office. Today, nearly 40% of U.S. workers operate in hybrid or remote roles. For many employees, a laptop and Wi-Fi are all that’s needed to stay productive.
The demand for flexible workplaces is here to stay. But having the ability to clock in from anywhere doesn’t mean working without proper guardrails. A remote workforce introduces potential new vulnerabilities, and without implementing the right practices and systems, convenience can quickly turn into risk.
How can we balance security with the perks of remote work? We turned to the cybersecurity experts at Sullivan Wright Technologies.
DON’T treat your remote setup like a corporate one. It’s easy to assume that working from home, or even our favorite coffee shop, is inherently safe. After all, it’s familiar and feels controlled. But unlike office environments, home or public networks typically lack enterprise-grade protections. Where we work is our office, and our equipment should meet the same security standards. Employees should use commercial-grade devices provided and overseen by their companies with the appropriate software and cloud-based services.
DO keep your devices updated. Software updates are among the simplest yet most frequently overlooked aspects of cybersecurity. When we postpone an update, we’re not just delaying a restart, we’re leaving our systems open to cybercriminals who want to (and will) exploit potential weaknesses. In short? Updates aren’t optional. They’re essential.
DON’T mix personal and professional device use. Using one laptop for everything — working, shopping, streaming — might be convenient, but it’s risky. Personal use can expose our devices to a wide range of threats from malicious downloads to phishing attempts. Once compromised, that same device can become a gateway into our company’s systems. Again, the safest option is to use equipment that’s been configured and maintained by our organization.
DO pay close attention to “harmless” warnings. We’ve all clicked the “remind me later” notification. But in cybersecurity, delays can have consequences. In fact, many breaches aren’t the result of sophisticated attacks, but rather preventable oversights. If a system flags a potential issue and recommends patching, it’s usually addressing a known security vulnerability. Ignoring these alerts could turn off protections and leave our system exposed.
With the rise of remote work, we’ve seen a shift in where and how threats appear. Every device should be considered part of a company’s security landscape and overseen with the same diligence and discipline. By sticking to these straightforward do’s and don’ts, we can safeguard our flexibility while also reducing cyber risk.
