By now we all know the advantages that come with working from home. But there is one thing that sometimes gets over looked – data protection. In an office setting, it is much easier to protect your business data than it is when everyone works from home. Are you currently running a business with remote workers or are working from home more regularly? You need to learn how to keep your data safe, whether it’s digital or physical. Let’s dive into some basics to get you started.

Use a VPN

A VPN is a virtual private network that only you and your employees have access to. When setting up your VPN, it basically means that you connect to this network to do your work, and nobody else can access it. Therefore, all the data that’s transferred and shared across this network will be extremely safe. A common mistake people make is they connect to the internet via their home Wi-Fi and conduct business that way. Doing this will mean your network is severely under-protected as home Wi-Fi rarely has the greatest security measures in place. It is simply very easy for a hacker to breach this network, find data, and steal it. There are different options available depending on which browser you use, and it is important to research what best meets your requirements. The best vpn for firefox might be different to google chrome for example.

Avoid storing data on devices

Where possible, avoid storing your digital data on physical devices in your home. For instance, stop keeping all your files on your laptop or PC. Why? Because it is easy for a hacker to hack into your physical devices and compromise this data. It is also possible that someone can break into your home and steal your laptop, taking all the data with them. Instead, your best solution is to use cloud data storage. This lets you store as much data as you want in the cloud, where it is accessible from anywhere. The added benefit is that you can choose who has access to the cloud storage folders, limiting the number of people that know how to get your data. Cloud storage is much harder to hack, and it’s impossible for someone to physically steal it!

Keep physical data out of your house

You might collect lots of physical data while working from home. This can include business reports, analysis sheets, customer information, and so on. Normally, you will store this in your house – whether this is in a filing cabinet or just any other storage option you have. As you can imagine, this is very unsafe. You can so easily lose this data or have it stolen in a burglary. A safer and more secure solution is to use a self-storage facility. Most facilities offer storage solutions for home and business, so you will have plenty of units to choose from in various sizes. The true benefit of this idea is that storage facilities tend to be protected by CCTV and 24/7 surveillance systems, along with patrolling guards. So, you can feel safe that your physical data is tucked away and protected. 

Data safety and protection when running a business and working from home is key to ensuring you are operating safely and protecting the company. Especially if you have employees that work together over a shared network. No matter the type of data your business creates, work to find the right solutions to keep it safe when working from home.

TDP x