Companies across the planet are transitioning some or all team members to remote work-at-home positions. Whether you are building new remote teams, transitioning together, or recruiting new remote employees; IT support is a must. Not only will your IT help desk assist the team in setting up their home offices, installing the software stack, and connecting to your collaborative software – they are also responsible for remote team cybersecurity.

In the office, you have an encrypted internet connection and a firewall-secured internal network and wifi signal. You can have secured internal workstations and even isolated data servers that only connect at protected access points. Working from home changes all that. Employees are working on personal devices, and even company devices still share space with family, roommates, and guests. Residential wifi is rarely secure by default and most professionals don’t know how to configure a business-class firewall with specialized access to shared company-only ports.

Let’s dive into the five main ways that your IT help desk is essential for remote employee cybersecurity.

1) Properly Install and Configure Home Firewall

After a home device has installed the company tech-stack of software, it still needs to be secured. The most important element is the firewall, often paired with support tools like virus scanners and encryption.

Your IT help desk can walk each remote employee through the process of installing, securing, and then custom-configuring their firewalls for work purposes. This includes closing common hacker-accessed ports and opening specific unusual ports used only by the team’s software. Your IT team can help employees encrypt their connections and set up disaster recovery systems for any local work.

2) Set Up a Secure Home Wifi Network

Internet and wifi are an important subject when discussing remote employee security. Not only does your team need a high-speed connection for calls and collaboration; they also need encryption and secured home wifi so neighbors can’t tune into their network. Your IT help desk can walk employees through everything from choosing a high-speed internet provider to configuring their wifi router for secure work and family use at home.

3) Personal Guide on Security Best Practices

In addition, most people could use a refresher or their first lesson on the best practices for home cybersecurity. Those who have worked almost exclusively in secured business environments may be less experienced at avoiding phishing attempts, at protecting their online spaces, or at managing their own disaster recovery routine.

An IT help desk can walk each remote employee through the initial best practices, share learning resources, and provide support if your team has any questions as the work gets underway.

4) Fast Response to Security Risks

Every team eventually has a cybersecurity scare -whether or not a consequential breach occurs. When an employee is worried they might have just been malware infected, calling the IT help desk will guide them through the securing, scanning, and recovery procedures to keep their business data safe.

If a professional’s device is acting strangely, if they accidentally shared a file with the wrong account, or if it looks like there’s a hacker in their chatroom, having the IT help desk on-call is essential for quickly securing these risk concerns.

5) Secure Solutions to New Problems

Finally, your help desk team is there when a new security challenge presents itself. When you need to transfer large project files to a new platform, safely supervise a chain of data custody, or incorporate new safety regulations – the IT help desk team is there to make sure every remote team member adapts together. Whether you need innovative in-the-moment security solutions or to implement a new security transition, your IT help desk team can help.

Does your remote team need the support of an IT help desk service? Contact us today to consult on the scope and particulars of your IT help desk needs.