Ensuring Cybersecurity in A Remote Workplace

How to Make Sure your Remote Team is Secure

By Ryan Ayers, Freelance Writer & Tech Consultant

With e-commerce at an all-time high in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, cybersecurity is even more important than it was in 2019 when the U.S. government, alone, spent $8.5 billion defending against hackers and other types of cybercriminals.

The future of cybersecurity looks bright from a jobs standpoint, but that obviously means there is heightened anxiety regarding the threat of attacks. As the remote work trend will most likely continue after stand down, here are some tips on ensuring cybersecurity for your company.

Educate Your Employees

Self-education on hacking trends is paramount if you’re someone who is responsible for securing personal information shared on a website, and passing that information to any and all employees/third-party workers who may have access to parts of your website that have sensitive information is just as important.

Having a positive workplace culture in place is the first step, so your employees respect and listen to the information you pass down regarding the hacking trends. Additionally, simple but important reminders to change passwords and always logout need to be said, as old habits die hard and most people don’t do these things as regularly as they should.

Educate Your Consumers

A fairly new type of cyberattack is called “MITM” attacks, or “man in the middle.” Though an insensitive name in regards to female hackers, it’ a very sensitive issue in the world of cybersecurity. In MITM attacks, a hacker will create a network that mimics that of a local WiFi hotspot like a coffee shop. It’s already not great practice to do eCommerce over a public network, but it’s especially troublesome when the network is phony and someone is simply watching your input data and stealing what you input.

Making sure customers stay aware of the threats without scaring them away, is a tough line to toe but one that should err on the side of protecting the consumers and your website.

Protect the Money

Any remote workplace that offers online monetary exchanges needs to triple up on security in a world where security breaches are expected to cost the global economy $6 trillion (with a “t”) in 2021 (some estimates are lower, but all well above the $3 trillion the economy lost to cybercriminals in 2015).

Let Everyone Know About Your Security Measures

One of the best ways to secure your ecommerce website is to subtly-but-noticeably display your security measures on your website. This is a three-fold measure when it comes to the protection and success of your eCommerce business. First, you do, indeed, have quality security measures in place to protect against hacking, including automated hacks which account for a large percentage of hacking. When it does come to human hackers, your advertised security measures will also play a part in deterring them from targeting your site and your customers’ information. Third, those same customers will see it and think, “Hey, this website is secure, let’s buy some stuff,” and that’s the ultimate goal in eCommerce!

Repeat Regularly

All of these practices will help your remote company stay protected from cyber threats, but the world of hacking is as rapidly changing as any tech-related arena and it is paramount to the protection of your information to constantly bring yourself up to speed on trends and tribulations from the dark side of eCommerce.

As the threats of hacking continue to increase, it’s also a good idea to look into third-party services that display expertise in defending against the ever-changing cybercriminals of the world. Just as with any investment, it should certainly be weighed against the alternatives, but the weight of poor security has and can again be the beginning of the end for an eCommerce site that ends up in a hacker’s crosshairs.

About the Author

Ryan Ayers is a researcher and consultant within multiple industries including information technology, blockchain, and business development. Always up for a challenge, Ayers enjoys working with startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. When not at work, Ayers loves reading science fiction novels and watching the LA Clippers. Ryan can be reached online at @biztechguru.