Why it's a bad idea to allow employees to use personal computers for working remotely
With how quickly COVID-19 is pushing people to work from home, it’s understandable that many companies are rushing to get employees set up quickly in hopes to not lose too much traction. Admittingly, it is tempting to make quick, convenient decisions but this is truly not something to rush. What may seem like no big deal, can be a big vulnerability and easily lead to a cyberattack.
Allowing employees to use their personal computers for work may seem like a good idea, especially from a financial aspect, but that means the company is at the mercy of the employee’s home protections and policies. Basically, it comes down to security. There really is a difference between home editions and office editions of both software licenses and hardware.
Take the time now to invest and plan in the proper remote setup to help prevent cyberattacks, lost data and definitely lost profit.
Antivirus
Do they even have antivirus installed? What does it include, and is it suffice enough for your business needs?
Group policies
Any group policies set up by network admins will be lacking on the personal computer. Group policies are used for restricting access to various settings, applications, folders, etc.
Firewalls
A firewall prevents unauthorized access to or from a network. A poor firewall, or lack of one completely, is a wide open door for a cybercriminal.
VPNs
Yes, installing a VPN is a good security decision. If you’re installing a VPN on a personal computer though, this limits the company’s security level to that of the employee’s. So, still not as secure as you may think or hope.
Multiple users
Oftentimes there are multiple family members using a home computer. The last thing you need is for a kid to make one wrong click, or a non-employee accidentally accessing private company information.
If you’ve already set up your home offices, we are happy to review them and provide an assessment. Please be vigilant about these security efforts. We’d much rather help you now than recovering from a data breach.