Secure Remote Working (Working from home)

It might be because of snow in March, it might be because of health advice about infectious diseases, or it might be for any number of reasons, but you find yourself thinking that working from home might be a good idea.

While you can get by for a while with the files you have on your laptop, what do you do if you find you’re missing a vital client list? get a colleague to email it to you? you might be in breach of the GDPR if you’re not putting sufficient protection around the files.

… and then you need another file, and some paperwork scanned in, and access to a restricted file on the server, and the ability to send an email from your work account…

A better, more secure and reliable solution would be a VPN.

What about the subscriber VPN services I see advertised?

If you’re only a subscriber to a VPN service, there are some issues that you need to consider;

1. How reliable is the service? is it always going to be there or will it let you down when you come to use it, and what level of support do you get with that?
2. Do you need to leave your computer in the office switched on to use it, potentially leaving it accessible to attack?
3. Is it GDPR compliant, what guarantees do you get on data security for your information that’s being routed through a potentially unknown third party server? and are they keeping logs of your activity?
4. How flexible is the service? can you configure it to meet your business needs?

Private VPN

A private VPN running from your company network can establish a secure link from your device at home to your business, allowing you or your staff to access all the files just as if you were sat in your office.

And it’s not just restricted to home. With the right security settings you can get mobile access to your business network, which means you can continue to work wherever you’re working from