Picture this scenario: the light is starting to appear at the end of the tunnel. It’s appearing like you’ll be able to return to your office life very soon as your employer has let you know that it is safe to return to the daily grind. You’ve been working remotely for so long and it’s time to go back full-time. The only thing is… now what?

What should you expect? What changes are going to be made? But what you also need to ask yourself is: How Cyber-Aware am I? Is it going to be that much different than how my life was when I was working remotely?

Today we are going to cover 5 Remote Security Practices you Need For When You Return to The Office.

Expect New In-Office Policies and Procedures

If this is your first time returning to your office environment, you should arrive with the mindset that that your experience is not going to be the same as it was a year ago. Your employer should be providing you with clear and concise updates that are relevant to your location, industry, and current work environment. Review each change in a timely, calm, and professional manner. There is a good chance that you will be coming back to the office in shifts and continue to provide health reports to management to keep them informed. Even though many of us are receiving vaccinations, there is a high chance that we will still need to take precautions for the foreseeable future, including maintaining your own workspace.

Refreshing Your Workstation

There may be an inch worth of dust on your workstation but that’s just the beginning of what you may need to clean when returning to the office. Beyond your physical cleaning, if you haven’t used your desktop computer in months or maybe even a year, it will need refreshing as well. Ensure that all of your programs and apps are installed with their latest versions, especially your anti-virus programs. All of your internet-connected devices, including PCs, smartphones, and tablets need to be updated to reduce the risk of infection from ever-evolving malware.

Refresh Your Passwords

While you may have been working remotely, refreshing your outlook on how to approach your workday should also involve refreshing your logins. Using generic passwords or re-using passwords across multiple logins make it easier for criminals to steal your critical data. If you have difficulty keeping track of your various passwords, use a password manager to retain your passwords and only have to use one strong password for your logins. And if you have not enabled Two-Factor Authentication on your logins where available, you need to. Contact your IT department if you need assistance enabling MFA for your logins.

Back to Basics on Phishing

It can be exciting to return to your normal daily activities but never forget that bad actors never left your inbox. Phishing attempts on businesses have been rising rapidly since the pandemic and now is not the time to lose alertness. Verify URLs before clicking them. Double check the sender of the message to see if its legitimate. Never click on unknown attachments. Most importantly, do not divulge *any* sensitive information without verifying. If you see a suspicious message, do not click! Let your management and IT department know immediately.

Keep Your Awareness at Maximum

Some of you may be ecstatic that you are returning to your normal life, but cyber-criminals are also excited to take advantage of any mistake you make online. Your awareness is key to not only protecting your business but also your own personal identity online. All the anti-virus protection in the world can’t always protect from human error, which is exactly what hackers are hoping for. Make sure that you are training your employees on how to spot phishing attacks and the various threats that are awaiting the uniformed.

An untrained employee on cybersecurity is much more of a risk to your business than you may think. neoRhino’s Security Awareness Team (SAT) is here to keep you armored against cyber-threats. Contact us at www.neorhino.com/sat or call us at (281) 779-4850 for more information about our SAT program and receive a FREE Cyber-Aware Startup Kit!

Don’t Get Hooked. Stay Cyber-Aware.