Now that we all rely on mobile devices to work, one of the worst things that can happen is being out of town and losing your phone, tablet or laptop. This can happen to anyone, so it’s important that you implement the right tools and rules when you are travelling for work. 

Here are a few tips for mobile work: 

1. Make sure that critical data doesn’t live solely on a mobile device
2. If data is sensitive, make sure the mobile device storing the data has encryption at rest
3. Ensure that the device has strong authentication and password rules, so that an unauthorized user cannot immediately access the data

Get our free Safe Travel Checklist (PDF) for more tips on safe business travel practices. 

Many IT decision makers spend a lot of time trying to protect their organizations from the newest type of scam or the newest cyber-crimes. However, it’s important to always keep the basic principles of security management in mind to make sure you, your company and your clients remain safe… and it all starts with user awareness. 

Everyone in the organization should understand basic security principles that are relevant to your organization. This education should be a part of every new employee training. Acceptable Use and Incident Response guidelines are examples of some common security policy items that everyone should know their role in as they become a part of your team.

Proper communication and procedures, as it pertains to IT security, is often overlooked, but can represent a huge return in risk mitigation when properly utilized.  Have you considered how you talk about IT security with your employees?

Learn more about Security Awareness Training

One of the smartest things you can do when utilizing USB drives to store and transfer data is to encrypt the drive. As long as the drive is encrypted, the odds of that data being breached are greatly reduced should it be stolen or misplaced.  

How important is computer and cyber security? Let’s take a look at some facts to put it in perspective: 

Two-factor authentication (2FA for short), sometimes called multi-factor authentication (MFA), is a system in which you must verify your identity in two separate ways to access an account – this may be a login password, an online account or an account to access an application. 

Having physical access to technology, even if the devices themselves have been properly maintained and secured, increases risk dramatically, so physical security to your space still matters.

Technology has made our lives better. Technology has made adjusting the thermostat and turning the hot-water heater back to normal temperature as you board the plane to come back home from vacation very convenient and efficient.

Passwords and management of those passwords are a big pain – no two ways around it. One website requires a symbol, another requires 14 characters and your bank requires 10 characters, four PIN numbers and the answer to a secret question. It becomes easy to just use the same three or four passwords for everything – after all, that’s more secure than one password for everything, right?