Is working from home putting you at risk?

What’s your digital disposition?

1

Buttoned down and hyper-vigilant

No hacker is going to slip anything past you. You're better protected than an armoured car. And all business. Wi-Fi? Check. Email? Check. Passwords? Check. Sharing? No way. Never. But how do you sleep? And sometimes you may get legitimate emails from people you don't already know.

2

Prudent and practical

Balance is your mantra. You recognise risks and manage them well, maintaining a healthy suspicion of direct approaches. But others in your world may not be as careful, so watch out for indirect vulnerabilities, particularly at home (which is, of course, where you feel most secure).

3

Occasionally attentive

You're always on, but not always on-guard. Cyber-safety and driving have a lot in common: minimise risk and be prepared to respond to the unexpected. And that requires full time attention.

4

Distracted multitasker

You know there are bad actors and you understand the risks. But you don't always give them the respect they deserve. It's time to review your personal approach to cybersecurity -- across all devices, all channels, all locations.

5

Lax and laissez-faire

You're an incurable optimist. You trust your fellow humans. That’s admirable, but the world is full of people who aren’t as nice as you. Your luck has held out so far. But don’t wait until it runs out. Time to work on your cyber safety drills.

4 Cloud Spends You Should Fix Immediately

8 Tips for working from home safely

Kiwis have taken to working from home. But how well do you protect your data (hint: almost no one gets a perfect score). Data likes to wander, and everyone's data is more vulnerable away from the office.

IT systems alone can't keep your data secure. A lot depends on you and your behaviour. Here are some top tips to stay safe while working from home.

1. Protect your home Wi-Fi password

Hide your Wi-Fi password from prying eyes - don’t stick it on the fridge or tape it to the router where visitors and neighbours can easily find it.

Use passwords of significant strength (greater than eight characters with three of the following four (upper case, lower case, number, special character). Do not use words or derivations of words as passwords.

Change your Wi-Fi password regularly.

The same applies to portable/pocket Wi-Fi and hotspots on your phone.

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2. Segment your home Wi-Fi

Separate the home Wi-Fi network you use to access work systems from the Wi-Fi you use to connect your IoT devices (eg digital assistant, baby monitor, smart TV). For example, use the Guest Wi-Fi option on your router for your IoT devices.

If possible, also separate the network you use to access work systems from the one the rest of your household uses e.g. for playing games or even remote schooling.

3. Regularly reboot your home Wi-Fi router

Reboot your Wi-Fi once a month to defeat many forms of malware. Ie turn it off, wait 30 seconds and turn it on again.

Also patch and update to the latest firmware for your router, following the instructions from the manufacturer or your internet service provider.

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4. Lock your device, even at home

Don’t fall into a false sense of security working from home. Lock your work device when you walk away from it. You might love and trust your family, but don’t provide the opportunity for them to accidently click on a malicious link or webpage when accessing their social media on your laptop or phone.

5. Use secure videoconferencing tools

There’s a whole swag of free videoconferencing apps, but to protect work conversations only use the video conferencing tools that have been vetted by your employer as safe to use.

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6. Be QR code savvy

Using your work phone to access the NZ COVID Tracer QR code when checking into a café or catching a bus or taxi? Take a moment to check that the QR code hasn’t been tampered with. A fake QR code might direct you to a malicious site. If it looks suspicious, don’t use it and alert someone appropriate to check it.

Also, for COVID tracing check-in only give your contact details. There is no need to give your credit card details or a password.

7. Look out for Phishing and Smishing

“Phishing” is when bad actors use email, social media or phone calls to pretend to be someone or an entity you know, to trick you into providing information or clicking on a link (many employers provide a phishing alert button in their email system to report and quarantine suspicious emails). “Smishing” is when they use SMS to do the same thing. If the message is unexpected, or if it is from someone you don’t know, or the language seems out of character or has a suspicious sense of urgency, don’t reply or click on the link. If it is from someone you know contact them via another channel to verify if the message is legitimate – you might be the one to alert them they have been hacked.

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8. Don’t fall for the courier scam

As many of us turned to online shopping during COVID restrictions for both work and personal purchases, look out for phishing/smishing messages that claim to be about deliveries that have been stopped at customs or a warehouse and require you to click on a link and/or pay a clearance fee. If it is about a delivery you are expecting, call the courier instead. If it is about a delivery you can’t remember, ignore it. Keep a record of what you bought, and from whom, and stick to reputable retailers