In these days of social distancing, lock-downs, and shelter-in-place directives, far more people are working from their home offices, wherever those may be. As always, though, it’s necessary to protect yourselves from potential threats, cyber and otherwise. The following are a few mostly common-sense work from home security tips.

• Make sure your devices are physically safe (shut down or locked, as with a mobile phone you use to check potentially-sensitive work-related email or messages). Keep them out of sight of children, family members, or roommates that may be tempted to snoop.
• If you are sharing a computer or device between family members for work- and school-related tasks, keep the profiles separate, and make sure to sign out of the work-related account when not using it for that purpose.
• If you are remoting-in to a work computer or network, make sure you are using an encrypted VPN whenever possible, and make sure any related software is kept up-to-date.
• Keep your work and personal email and social accounts separate. Don’t send an email to a client from your personal email address – it could lead to confusion down the road. And don’t post anything on social media from your work account that isn’t directly related to your or your employer’s business.
• Make sure your home wi-fi is secure with a strong password, and your home router is equally secured.
• Make sure your WFH computer is secure, password-protected, and its OS, browser(s), antivirus/antispyware/antimalware, and VPN software are kept up-to-date. New attack methods and vectors are found constantly, so this is of utmost importance.
• ALWAYS be wary of emails. Treat everything with suspicion, and never click on a link in an email if you’re not absolutely certain it came from a trusted source. You can hover over a link in your email client to see where it actually would take you, which may be very different from the link’s text.
• Similarly be wary of links on social sites, particularly those that utilize a URL shortener to mask their true destination.
• If engaging in Zoom or other online video meetings, make sure your camera and microphone are secure. Disable them when not in use, and be vigilant in searching for spyware that may utilize your camera or mic as an attack vector.
• And never neglect your mental safety and emotional safety and well-being. When you’re always connected, and the days tend to blur with their sameness, it can help to keep to a schedule.
  • Leave home, take walks, take breaks.
  • Maintain regular hours.
  • Maintain regular hygiene.
  • And finally, don’t turn on Netflix to finish Tiger King until your work day has ended.

This post was contributed by Senior Programmer, Eric Grimm.

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