3 Ways to Make Remote Workers Security Aware

A New Workplace
As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, more than three quarters of business leaders worldwide developed plans for remote work. Now that we're all learning to live in the new normal, Gartner projects that 48% of employees will continue to work remotely in the post COVID-19 world. For security awareness, the remote worker had become indispensable. We need to be learn to reach people wherever they work, be it an office, a hotel, or at home.

Many tools of the security awareness trade no longer work. We can't do displays in the lobbies of buildings. We can't put up posters.

So what can we do?

Reinventing Tools
Maybe we can't put up posters, but how about desktops? How about backgrounds for video calls, or login screens for company computers?

Posters help us use physical space. We can also find innovative ways to fill virtual space.

Security And Team Building?
A lot of folks have been asking me how to incentivize employees to take part in security awareness activity in a new remote work environment. 

One way is to blend it into other areas. As we learn to work in digital teams, team building is on everyone's mind. 

You might want to take some time at lunch to do a team building quiz on Kahoot. The trick is to make the quiz have security content. That way you can build the team and learn about security at the same time.

Workers at Home
With so many folks working from home, how do we interest them in security messages, you might ask? Aren't they too busy trying to help the kids connect to online school and helping their loved ones figure out Skype? Or could this be the opportunity you are looking for?

The fact is, security that is good for adults is good for the whole family. If you can give your employees the tools to teach young folks how to stay safe and their loved ones how to use the internet responsibly, you're covering some of the major elements of IT security.

Being aware of phishing and spam. Not putting too much of your information out there. Adjusting security settings. Being careful with free software.

• If you can explain that photos you send are out there forever, you can learn the same point about company information
• If you can adjust security settings for a home phone, you can think about security settings on a work computer
• If you can understand oversharing on social media, you can understand Operational Security at work
• If you can understand risky links when looking for, ahem, movies online, you can understand how phishing and ransomware works

​The principles of security are the same. But if you can empower your employees to help their families to be more secure, you'll be making them security trainers.

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