For organizations looking for the most privacy possible, private networks with no access or extremely limited access from the outside became the go-to option. This poses issues, however, for workers who put in their hours remotely; and given the current climate with such high percentages of the workforce now carrying out their tasks from home, the private network scenario faces challenges. Remote-worker security has to be on the short list of things to do for company IT personnel.
With an estimated 40% of the workforce working from home, the big question is: how can these employees connect to private networks from their residential Wi-Fi, access the information they need to do their jobs, yet not compromise security? Is there a way to extend private networks in a way that won’t open doors to cyber criminals?
VPN to the Rescue
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, have been employed to great success where remote-worker security is concerned. The secret to the success is in the encryption that is involved. So, when an employee gets into the network from their home or their remote location outside of the home, the level of security is just about the same as you have it in the office environment.
The only issue that pops up regularly is the fact that VPNs aren’t easy to set up. Before the pandemic, it wouldn’t be a problem for an IT member to assist the remote worker, but given social distancing guidelines, this isn’t possible – which means it has to be done remotely.
New Tools for Risk-Reduced Connection
There could be no better timing: enterprise-grade office network appliances are available to provide remote-worker security. These appliances offer what is essentially an on-site local area network – but with security options that mimic the VPN scenario.
Rather than have to go through the process of configuring a VPN remotely, the enterprise-grade, office network appliances are preconfigured (in many cases) with the cryptographic protocols that make connecting to the company’s network a safe yet easy task.
The bonus is that you don’t have to toil with complex configurations that can potentially go wrong and lead to connectivity and security issues.
At eXemplify, we stay on top of the latest solutions that can provide remote-worker security to benefit your company. If you’ve struggled as of late with remote-work IT situations and security issues, we will find the best technology for you. Furthermore, we provide managed security services which help you stay ahead of the threats that can compromise your data and have the potential to shut you down. Contact us and let’s talk about what you need and how we can get it for you.