Why effective email and laptop security requires a multi-layered approach

The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 changed how companies do business. The distributed work environment—also known as remote work—has now become commonplace. Most employees are no longer working in their company’s office space, they’re working at home or at coffee shops. And most of them are working solely on laptops. 

Many companies have moved too quickly to a distributed workforce without pausing to consider some of the security ramifications associated with that shift. Employees are working in settings without the same security as in the workplace. They’re not working within a protected network environment, which can lead to an increase in cybersecurity risks that could devastate the company. 

Cybersecurity companies in Orange County must do things differently to address the security needs of their clients’ distributed workforce. A layered approach is stronger and more effective than relying on a single security tool for protecting remote workers. Here’s a list of multiple layers your IT service provider can implement to keep your company safe.  

 

DNS-Based Filtering 

It’s difficult for IT professionals to determine what’s a threat to an employee because they’re not using a computer sitting in the office. What employees do on their laptops throughout the day, even if they are doing legitimate work, still poses a threat to the laptop and the company as a whole. Malicious application services can get installed and begin communicating with external entities. 

One way to provide another layer of cybersecurity for employees working on a laptop is to use DNS-based filtering. This inserts an added layer of protection against potentially malicious websites or services. It mitigates the risks that can arise when employees visit suspicious websites or work in unprotected Wi-Fi environments. 

  

Next-Generation Antivirus Software 

Viruses have changed drastically over the years. Legacy antivirus software is able to defend against specific definitions of viruses. Today’s viruses cause changes in computer behavior, which won’t get picked up by traditional antivirus software. 

Installing a next-generation AI-based antivirus solution will boost a laptop’s ability to monitor and defend against viruses and similar threats. The AI will see these behavior changes and automatically remediate the problem or notify the IT provider that there’s a problem. It’s able to detect issues that even a seasoned IT professional would never notice. 

  

Cloud-Based Authentication Services 

Companies have historically relied on local servers within the office environment to provide authentication and the reset of credentials. With employees working from laptops outside the office, companies are now missing that centralized piece of control. 

To address this issue, many companies are moving their credentialed services away from a legacy local brick-and-mortar server toward managed cloud service providers. One of the easiest migration paths is to leverage Microsoft Azure or Azure Active Directory. These types of cloud-based authentication services provide a combination of security and efficiency. 

Providing cybersecurity in Orange County with a cloud-based service is as simple as shipping a preconfigured laptop to an employee! Your IT team can make sure the laptop is already loaded with their credentials, username and password, and multi-factor authentication. The employee is ready to start working once they take the laptop out of the box. All they need is an internet connection and their login. It’s an extremely efficient way of getting a distributed workforce up and running. 

  

Multi-Layered Email Security 

Today, 94% of all malicious attacks on organizations happen through email. It’s the easiest way for an attacker to get through your firewall and encryption services and into your network environment. That’s why BRITECITY takes a layered approach to preventing email-based attacks on your employees’ laptops. These layers should include email record filtering for spam and malicious content, multi-factor authentication of employees’ email credentials, and email encryption for secure communication. 

Email record filtering verifies every email that comes in before it’s delivered to the end user to ensure that it’s not malicious. It determines that there is not a virus embedded in the email or as an attachment. It also helps to protect employees against phishing attacks. 

Multi-factor authentication provides another layer of security on top of passwords for email messages. Even if an employee gives their password away, the email cannot be accessed without a second form of authentication. For example, a code will be sent to their mobile phone before they can access the email, which makes it more secure. 

Email encryption services provide a third layer of protection. Many people don’t realize that emails are sent as cleartext, which is unencrypted. This type of email can be intercepted by what is called a “man in the middle” attack. If that happens, the attacker can read the message and copy the data. Email encryption does exactly what it says—it encrypts the email so that only the legitimate sender and intended receiver can read it. Even if someone intercepts the encrypted email, the “man in the middle” cannot read the email content. 

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BRITECITY offers local businesses support in areas like Cyber Security, Cloud Services, Strategic IT, and Managed IT Services in Orange County.