How Remote Workers Can Cause Your Small Business Data to Be Broken (and How to Prevent It)

You may have received a data breach notification from an online service or social media platform you use. You may have taken steps to protect yourself, such as changing passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, or monitoring your identity for fraud.

But as a small business owner, the stakes are even higher. You are now responsible not only for your own data, but also for the data of your customers, employees and business partners. This brings with it a new level of responsibility: protecting your small business from data breaches.

Data leaks can have many causes – weak passwords, phishing attacks, outdated software, insecure networks or third-party vulnerabilities.

However, in today’s remote or hybrid work environment, insider threats pose an increasingly greater risk that must be considered. These are cases where employees inadvertently share confidential business information, often due to poor security habits while working from home, in a coffee shop, or while traveling.

The consequences of a data breach and the resulting leak of confidential information can seriously affect your business. Your reputation may be damaged, you may face fines and you may have to undertake costly data recovery measures. All of this can impact your business operations.

Related:10 Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Your Small Business Data

How employees inadvertently share company data

While the flexibility of remote work is great for you and your employees, it also increases the risk of data breaches.

Here are some common ways employees and coworkers can inadvertently disclose confidential business information.

· You connect to unsecured networks. One of the most common risks for remote workers is working over unsecured Wi-Fi networks in cafes, airports or hotels. Man-In-The-Middle Attack is a type of cyberattack in which hackers can intercept data sent over an unsecured network and steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data.

Example: Imagine your employee is working from a coffee shop using a public Wi-Fi network. They access your company’s cloud storage and download files. Meanwhile, a hacker on the same network intercepts the data. Without the right security measures in place, your business data could be exposed in minutes.

· You use personal devices to access work folders or systems.

Many employees working from home use their personal devices to access work folders or systems. Unfortunately, these devices may not have important security protections like antivirus software, encryption, or secure configurations, and you may not even be aware of it.

· You fall for fraud and phishing attacks: Telecommuters working from home can fall victim to phishing scams, causing them to unknowingly click on malicious links or share sensitive information with cybercriminals. Distractions at home can lower their vigilance even further.

Related: The 10 most common scams against small businesses: How to stay safe and what to do if you get scammed?

· They share passwords and confidential content without knowing they shouldn’t.

It’s common for remote workers to collaborate using online tools. However, without proper guidance, employees can inadvertently share sensitive files or passwords with the wrong people. This can happen through miscommunication, lack of familiarity with secure file sharing practices, or accidental sharing in public forums.

· You lose devices containing confidential information. Laptops, smartphones or storage devices containing sensitive business data can be lost or stolen. Without encryption, any data on these devices is vulnerable to unauthorized access.

How to support secure remote work in your small business

1. Deploy a VPN for secure Wi-Fi connections

A virtual private network (VPN) secures your employees’ internet connections when they work from home. A VPN encrypts the data that passes between your employees’ devices and the internet, ensuring that their connection remains secure even when they connect to a public network. With Bitdefender VPNFor example, your employees can securely connect to any Wi-Fi network without fear of hackers intercepting their data because the VPN acts as a secure tunnel, hiding their IP address and encrypting all data exchanged with the network.

2. Detecting fraud attempts using AI

With Fraud CopilotWith Bitdefender’s AI-powered fraud detector, you can give your team a tool to quickly analyze suspicious emails, texts or social media messages. They can send any suspicious texts, screenshots, links or even QR codes they received to get an instant analysis of their security and legitimacy.

Scam Copilot also continuously monitors incoming messages and notifies employees when a potential scam is detected, helping to prevent phishing attacks before they happen.

3. Monitor your small business’s digital identity

You can’t always prevent your data from being lost in the event of a data breach from a company or software that previously collected your personal information or login credentials. However, you can make sure you know exactly how much of your private data has been leaked. Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection monitors over 100 personally identifiable pieces of information, such as social security number, credit cards or home address. It finds out what data about your online identity has been compromised or exposed and lets you know about it. With this information, you can change passwords, update your PINs to prevent future identity theft, and execute a plan of what to do in the event of a data breach.

4. Activate theft protection on your devices

With Bitdefender Anti-Theft, you can locate a lost device, lock it, or even wipe all data on it. You can view your device’s location on Google Maps and, if necessary, lock it and set a PIN to unlock it or remotely wipe all data from the device. In addition, for devices with a front-facing camera, Bitdefender can take photos of anyone trying to access your device. You can view these photos in the Anti-Theft dashboard.

5. Use a password manager

One of the easiest ways to protect your business data is to use a password manager. Employees often reuse or share passwords across multiple accounts, increasing the risk of unauthorized access. A password manager creates and stores strong, unique passwords for each account, reducing the likelihood of a breach from weak or compromised passwords.

6. Make life easier for your employees and safer for your company

Employees are often the first line of defense against cyberattacks, so it’s important to train them on best practices. You may not have the time to answer everyone’s questions all the time, which is why it can be helpful to have the Scam Copilot feature do it for you. Scam Copilot is also a security chatbot that you and your employees can consult when you have any doubts about a potential threat.

Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, Bitdefender Premium VPN, Password Manager and Scam Copilot are included Bitdefender Ultimate protection for small businessestogether with other solutions, making it the most comprehensive cybersecurity suite for companies with up to 25 employees.

Check out the plans, Here.