As companies navigate the shift in work changes from the pandemic, many businesses have discovered the positives of remote work. Remote work can reduce the risk of operational interruptions and also can provide productivity improvements from employees. In fact, recent research found that 91% of employees would like to continue working from home completely or at least some of the time.
That being said, there are security challenges to remote work. Working from home might be more convenient and comfortable, but it opens the door to more vulnerabilities or cyberattacks. As a result, organizations must create an updated backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan for the new remote work setting.
The Risks of Remote Operations
Even before remote work became more common from the pandemic 19% of companies experienced a security breach in the last year. Further, more than 50% of workers admit they do not password protect home networks and 90% of employees use employer devices for personal activities. With that in mind, the right BDR plan can help reduce the risks of data loss. It should include:
- Examine Your Current Plan: Before designing a new BDR framework, consider your existing policies in place. Make sure all measures are up to dates such as RTO and RPO objectives.
- Secondary Connections: With so many professionals working remotely, backing up your data in multiple locations is essential. Data should be backed up on company servers and the cloud automatically every few minutes. It’s also important to implement secondary connection solutions if your home network goes down. For example, using a smartphone as a hotspot to connect to a business VPN.
- Emergencies: If an emergency situation occurs such as a natural disaster or public emergency your business should have bug–out bags for employees. Bug-out bags may include, secondary power sources, extra HDMI cables, and other accessories to help when they’re away from work.
If you are interested in learning more about the importance of backup and disaster recovery for remote workers, check out the accompanying resource below.
Infographic created by MXOtech
