VPN protection is not just for the office

The number of cyber-attacks on businesses is increasing. As more of us rely on remote working, protecting our work life from sophisticated cybercriminals is becoming more important than ever.

Businesses do everything they can to keep cybercriminals at bay while working in the office. Security software, firewalls, and VPNs’ play a major part in keeping office systems protected from hackers and scammers. But what about employees who are working from home, or work remotely? The pandemic has forced businesses to up their privacy game as many have left their office desks behind. VPN protection is not just for the office. Making sure your external devices are protected is essential too.

Working from home

One adjustment many of us have had to make is working from home. While the commute is significantly shorter, other important factors may have been overlooked. It’s unlikely that your Wi-Fi at home has the same level of security as a business network, but you will still be working on the same projects. So, how can you protect yourself when working from home?  A VPN establishes an encrypted connection to the server, which makes it impossible for cybercriminals to access it. It will also hide your IP (Internet Protocol) address which details your location. This means your home address is not exposed, and your real location is kept private. Being able to work safely from home means you have one less thing to worry about in these uncertain times.

Public Wi-Fi

Businesses may not realise the risks when staff use public Wi-Fi networks when they are away from the office. Public Wi-Fi is widely available in places that are popular with business people such as train stations, coffee shops, and airports, but they have very little security protection. They are a hot spot for cybercriminals looking to take advantage of the lack of protection. Accessing emails, customer data, and financial information is easy for professional hackers and scammers when you use a public Wi-Fi network without a VPN. Using a public Wi-Fi VPN protects data, keeps personal and business information private, and ensures your browsing activity is anonymous.

Remote working

Installing a VPN will allow employees to connect to a company’s server securely. Even if they are halfway across the world. This is a very useful feature for those who travel for work or regularly visit countries that enforce censorship. A VPN will allow you to connect to a server back in the UK, so you can access everything you need without any geo-restrictions or delays. You can work on documents, send emails, and use company databases securely with a VPN on your device. For businesses, it is essential to protect every device. It only takes one cyber-attack to cause a multitude of problems for the individual and the company. If your company issues smart devices such as laptops, phones, and tablets to employees, it needs to be protected with a VPN.

Company confidentiality

A VPN will protect your company’s confidentiality, no matter where your employees are working from. The projects, documents, and emails you are working on are private – so you don’t want any prying eyes to see anything confidential. Any data travelling through your internet connection while you are connected to a VPN is completely private. From banking to budgets, the only people who see it will be those who need to.

Think about the implications

If your devices are targeted by cybercriminals when using public Wi-Fi at a coffee shop, there could be serious implications. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are very skilled at what they do, and financial information, customers details, and company passwords could all be exposed before you even know it has happened. A VPN will scramble your connection so your online activity cannot be tracked, and private information will not be compromised. A data breach would also impact brand trust and customer loyalty. This can take its toll on your reputation, which can be hard to recover from. Financially, a loss of customers or lack of new ones could affect the company profits.

Setting up

Don’t worry. Setting up a VPN is not as daunting as you might think. You won’t need to contact your IT department or spend hours searching for tutorials online. In a few clicks, a VPN can be downloaded and installed onto your device seamlessly. As well as increased privacy, you’ll get peace of mind knowing your work life is protected, no matter where you are working from.