Will Working from Home Lead to More Cyber Attacks?

Working from home can have some risks. But if your WiFi network is properly protected, you won’t have to worry as much.

When you are working from home, there two big things to keep in mind:

• Protecting yourself and your personal information
• Protecting your company

If your WiFi network is unprotected, you make it easy for cyber attackers to get into your personal information and any devices connected to your router. (Including your smart devices.)

When you log onto your wireless internet and use your company resources – meaning company-issued laptops but also confidential files – you create a gateway for hackers to get from you to your company. And if hackers can get to your company, then they have a gateway to all of the other employees connected to your company’s network.

This is why it is so important to protect your home WiFi network to yourself and many others.

Here are ways to protect your home WiFi so that you don’t have to worry about your safety or the safety of your company:

Make sure your WiFi is performing it’s best.

First off, make sure that your WiFi network is reliable. This means a strong signal and fast connection.

Other than avoiding frustrations, a wireless network that is unreliable or spotty is vulnerable. Make sure the following components are optimized for their best performance:

• Your router
• Your WiFi signal strength
• Your WiFi speeds

Are all of these components operating the best they can? Then your home network is probably optimized for its best performance.

If the answer is no, then double back to make sure your router, signal strength, speeds are boosted first. That is the starting point for securing your home WiFi.

Because if a home WiFi network is running poorly, it is not helping you or anyone else, no matter the security measures you put in place.

Create separate networks for vulnerable devices.

The whole point of securing your home WiFi network is to remove as many vulnerabilities as possible. And some of the most vulnerable things are Internet of Things (IoT) smart devices.

It isn’t wrong to own any of these devices. They are cool and can be extremely useful. But the best thing to do with them is have them connect to a separate network from the rest of your personal devices.

This way, if a hacker were to break into your network via your smart toaster or lightbulb, they would hit a dead end on the separate network. They wouldn’t be able to jump from your smart device to your work laptop like they would if everything was on one network.

Separating your networks for specific devices creates more work and roadblocks for cyber criminals and helps keep you safer.

Get a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Setting up and using a virtual private network (VPN) should be top of your “best practices” list. A VPN protects you from hackers on public WiFi by shielding your private information and web activity from prying eyes.

Why do you need one at home, then? Because your home WiFi network could be vulnerable to attack. And as far as your company is concerned, your home network is a public WiFi network. Anything outside of your office’s walls is now a public network. Even if for you personally, it is a “private” network.

See what we mean?

A VPN will allow you to send and receive your work data in peace.

Therefore, no matter what you are working on and where you are doing that work, a VPN will be your best friend. This way, you can confidentially complete your work from home (or a café) without worrying.

Get a WiFi management solution.

Managed WiFi is like an in-home IT support team that works around the clock 24/7. Just for you. To make sure that working from home doesn’t lead to more cyber-attacks, your WiFi network needs to be locked down with security. By managing your wireless network, you can put a halt to those threats. Here’s how:

Manage WiFi reduces the risk of cyber-attacks by doing the following:

• Managing any channels or gateways that could be attacked, like your router and devices
• Managing all of the devices connected to your network (both wanted and unwanted)
• Kicking off and banning unwanted devices (potentially criminals)
• Monitoring how much bandwidth each device takes up, and allocating them to open up more space
• Monitoring the WiFi signal strength for all devices connected to your network
• Monitoring guest networks for your IoT devices
• Improving your network security overall with advanced security tactics
• Implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identify patterns and block anything suspicious
• Receiving security and performance alerts
• Enhancing security for immediate troubleshooting

Among many other things.

That seems like a lot (and it is). So, what kind of tool or platform can even help with all of that? Glad you asked!

We recommended a reputable tool like Optim, a WiFi management solution, to keep cybersecurity risks at bay. Optim ensures both advanced WiFi security and smooth network performance. And, in today’s digital climate, with so many connected devices, the need for remote at home working conditions, and more innovations happening every day, managing your home WiFi is crucial.

You can protect yourself, your company and fellow coworkers from the troubles and devastation of cyber-attacks by investing in your home network security today. Remember that:

• A network that is high performing is equipped to be secure
• VPNs are your best friend
• Managed WiFi is a must

Are you wondering where you can get more information on protecting your home WiFi and more WiFi tips for working from home?  Check out Actiontec’s blog or learn more on Actiontec’s Complete Guide to WiFi Networking.

With Optim, enhanced security, troubleshooting tools, and network maintenance are at your fingertips from your smartphone or computer. To learn more or find out if Optim is available to you, check out Actiontec’s Home Networking Solutions guide.