Do you have a “work from anywhere” policy? We’ll start with a VPN.
“Working from anywhere” can mean working somewhere really nice – the photo is from a lake side cabin at Pine Lake Country Club in Lancashire.
Do you have a “work from anywhere” policy?
I particularly like our “work from anywhere” policy, it means I can have some great toys… Sorry let me rephrase that in case the Accounts Dept reads this. I have some excellent and essential equipment to help me work from anywhere. All joking aside it is not the kit that counts – we have clients using inexpensive Chromebooks, Windows tablet/laptops and even a Raspberry Pi – it is the infrastructure, policies and procedures that are important.
Today is my first full day back at work, following my summer holiday, but the Smart Thinking news feed had to be kept up to date and there were other business things to do, that were easier to complete whilst away than wait until I got back to my desk this morning.
However I was using the resort’s public Wi-Fi so every time I connected I used a VPN to protect my privacy.
VPN software
What is a VPN? It stands for Virtual Private Network and in reality it is your own verifiable, secure, private connection across the internet.
Whilst at the timeshare I was online using an unsecured, public network – it was fast but not the most secure or private solution, so when I am online I use a VPN. There are other security and privacy technologies in play when I am connecting, https, MFA, AAA etc., but I still use a VPN to secure that first step on the WiFi network to protect my internet traffic from unauthorised inspection.
Using a VPN the internet provider, router at the timeshare or bad player, man-in-the-middle etc can only record the IP address of the VPN I connect to, not the service or server I then subsequently connect to, preserving mine, the company’s and our client’s privacy.
You can create your own VPN or buy a service, I have both but whilst travelling I use the service as it protects both my Windows laptop, iPad and iPhone (it works on Macs, Linux and Android devices as well).
Conclusion
Make a VPN part of your policies and procedures when it comes to you or your people working outside your secure office.
When it comes to privacy and security it is always a good idea to be on the side of caution. If you do not know the answer, then ask.
Next: You read it up above but what is AAA and how does it apply to work from anywhere or even work in the office?
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
