The labor force is turning remote. The Financial Times just reported on the large effect that outbreaks such as the Coronavirus have on labor forces across the world. Everyday we are designing tools that redefine the workplace. It’s become more commonplace to see a team of employees spread out across different time zones. According to an article by Inc., 63% of companies now have remote workers.
Workers worldwide are accessing and sharing sensitive information across places such as Slack, Chanty, and SafesForce. Trying to understand when and where workers remotely are accessing key information is a task companies that to address in order to best attack cybersecurity issues.
In an iPass Survey, 2018 Mobile Security Report, there had been breaches at about 52% of companies.The CIOs of these companies believed these hacks to have occurred within the past year. Most breaches are believed to have occurred as a result of compromised wifis at places like cafes and coffee shops.
We sat down with tech CEO and Founder of jsDelivr, Dmitriy Akulov, to answer some questions addressing some of the biggest problems companies that are hiring remotely are facing on the security front.
Akulov, is a tech innovator and entrepreneur, that is the leading force behind some of the largest names in the tech world including: PerfOps, jsDelivr, and Prospect One. Companies that use jsDelivr include Target, Business Insider, Citi, NBC, NewYorker, Texas.gov, NYC.gov, Toyota, NBA, National Geographic, amongst many others.
Q: What are some of the risks associated with having a remote company?
There are hundreds of risks that come with having employees across the world. Companies with remote workers have a multitude of issues to tackle. These companies have to share sensitive information across platforms that may put a company at extra risk.
I find that a lot of executives are thinking about software problems with a lot of times the issue is locality. Remote workers also put companies at great risk with things like coworking spaces and cafes. Connected and shared servers and network connections can be troublesome for companies. Phishing emails and the use of personal devices for work are also things you have to consider.
Q: How do you think the remote trend will change the cloud game?
The remote work trend will push cloud development to new limits. Every day new platforms and cloud-based service providers are being developed to try and answer problems that arise with the newfound conventionality of remote work.
It’s exciting times for tech and the digital workforce.
Q: What steps do companies need to take to ensure cloud security? How is this different in a remote company?
Keeping a company secure is always hard but it is much easier when your workers are on-site. Having your workers in one location gives you full control over the hardware and the network your employees are using. But there are things that can be put in place to prevent breaches:
Companies need to train their employees well. This ensures that remote employees understand the risks around them giving them the knowledge to make better choices. Companies need to focus on establishing policies forcing encryption and strong passwords.
Invest in better tools. Create a list of company approved services and platforms that all remote workers can use. The more control you have over where your content is being uploaded the more you can focus on addressing cyber issues in that specific platform.
SSO and multi-factor authentication are crucial. Requiring additional identifications and verifications allows companies to have better control over who is accessing what information and when.
VPN connections are a must nowadays. Even for employees working exclusively from home and using private wifi, VPNS are an added layer of security that can prevent the use of any information that has been accessed by a breach.
Q: What advice can you provide a company thinking of going remote about their Cloud security?
Always prepare for the worst and have protocols in place for every single thing that can go wrong. The first way and one of the key ways to prevent security breaches comes from educating your employees.
But, regardless you must always be prepared for the worst and have protocols in place for every single thing that can go wrong. Poor security understanding by employees, people dropping communication, people changing jobs without notice. These are all things you have to consider as you think of a predefined system to enforce your privacy policies globally.
Q: Anything else you’d like to highlight?
Remote companies are hard to organize and run, and it becomes exponentially harder the more people you add on to the team. On top of figuring out how to run a super complicated system of workers across different time zones, executives of these companies have to tackle mammoth issues such as security. Sure, there are a ton of risks but overall the beauty in running a remote team successfully is that your talent doesn’t have to be limited by location, geography, or zip codes. You can put together the best team, give them the proper tools, set up the appropriate channels, and let them focus on the end result.
Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.