NICHE FEATURE
Is working from home
cyber-safe? The future is hybrid working. It saves money, increases productivity, and creates happier employees. However, there’s more to it than that, particularly where company security is concerned WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
W
hat does your office look like? It’s likely after the year of huge changes that have taken place around how we get the work done, that your office is no longer a place of 9-5, same desk, same breaks, same faces working. With businesses flourishing in the new more flexible, hybrid working dynamic, many are closing the office doors and facilitating their workers with ways of working from home, coffee shops, or even purpose-designed temporary office spaces. But – and there typically is always a but – what does it mean for your business’s security? For your data protection? IT solutions specialist Adam Jeffryes enlightens us: “Things have moved very quickly in terms of what businesses need to do in order to facilitate the new ways their team are working. There’s far more to it than simply
checking your team can access their emails, that’s for certain.” “Like what?” Well, Adam elaborates: “For a start, whose device are they working on? Is it their own or corporate? What kind of security does it have on it? Where are they printing potentially data-sensitive documents?” It’s vital that you as a business have considered these elements to hybrid working. Adam explains the consequences for those businesses that don’t have solutions in place: “There are, of course, security risks when your workers are accessing information through devices in various buildings, tapping into various servers. Then there’s the data protection elements to consider – printing documents at home which could be seen by others outside of the business isn’t GDPR compliant.” “So, what can be done?” I ask. “Plenty,” he says. “Switching
NO MATTER THE SIZE OF BUSINESS IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THIS WAY OF WORKING AFFECTS ALL
to cloud-based working for a start. Then there are some great affordable up-to-the-minute security firewall protection applications we can provide, as well as printing hubs and telephony systems which operate round the clock.” These solutions aren’t only for the large corporates though, “No matter the size of business, it’s important to remember this way of working affects all. There’s lots to be done for the smaller businesses too, which is supportive and affordable.” Honestly, these are aspects to working from home that many of us may not have explored or be aware of. Regardless of the size of your business, these elements need to be correctly explored and are best discussed with an expert like Adam at Dromeaus Limited to ensure the perks of hybrid working can be enjoyed by your business and your employees. NICHE | 51
