Work from home, or “WFH,” has become the new normal for many businesses. Now that systems are in place to take on this new reality, it’s important not to overlook cyber security measures that could put your company at risk. At Tech Turnaround, we have helped several companies transition to a fully online platform, and certain issues we see are extremely common. These are the top 3 IT compliance issues and measures you can take to solve them and stay up to date and secure in 2021.
1. Personal Devices
It’s common for companies to allow employees to work from their personal devices. It saves the company money on technology, and it gives employees the convenience of having one device for everything they need. While these were great options when we had to make a quick transition in 2020, they leave many companies open to breaches or hacks moving forward.
WFH makes it impossible to monitor activity with company information 24/7. There is a huge loss of control, which creates an opening for cyber threats to invade a personal computer for data. These variables are hard to control, so it’s important to put infrastructure in place to remain compliant.
The solution? Have secure cloud computing in place with an IT team that can protect the data. By storing important information on the cloud, you can implement constant monitoring of important company assets without invading the privacy of your employees’ personal devices.
2. Ignoring Regular Updates
A four-week-old update notification from Windows—we’ve all been there. But when it comes to your company’s IT compliance measures, employees neglecting to update their devices leads to a lot of unexpected problems. Between cyber security and user experience, ensuring your employees have the latest version of your technology keeps everyone on the same page.
Obsolete software can lead to technology problems that slow your workers down. There are three optimal solutions for this issue:
- Write and maintain a schedule where all employees are required to update their systems.
- Automate updates on all devices.
- Outsource updates through a third party to bring the experts directly to you.
Updating devices regularly means always having the latest technology for your business. Falling behind can mean serious threats for your company information and disorganization between team members. As with anything in life, it is always best to stay up to date.
3. Maintaining Government Compliance
If you’re a government contractor, Department of Defense (DoD) cyber security compliance is of the utmost importance. Beyond your own company’s cyber security requirements, it is imperative that you do not forget to maintain compliance with your designated CMMC certification.
It’s hard to constantly monitor the activity of every remote employee. Take proactive measures to protect all controlled unclassified information (CUI) your company has been contracted to handle. Keep all evidence of compliance on hand to make audits and certification processes smooth and practice the aforementioned tips along with any additional cyber security requirements.
Even though your employees are remote, the government is more likely to contract a company that has a good history of upholding compliance. While the way we work has changed, the competition hasn’t. By upholding appropriate cyber security measures, you help foster company growth for the future.
Overall, IT compliance issues are common no matter what industry your business is in. Between working from home, personal devices, updating technology, and outside compliance, there is a lot to consider as we move forward into 2021. Remote work is here to stay, so it is important to have systems in place to adapt rather than to resist.
Seems like a lot to handle? At Tech Turnaround, we proudly offer services in IT compliance, cloud computing, and cyber security to ensure you never fall behind. Outsourcing your IT brings the experts right to you for a fraction of the cost. Book an appointment today to see how our services can secure your business.
