Social distancing recommendations and minimizing the amount of time spent around others has left much of the business world working remotely from home. From setting up a home office to figuring out how to work together, there is a lot to think about. A part of getting employees set up to work from home properly is providing a VPN, or a Virtual Private Network.

A VPN provides a secure connection between two points – in this case your employee’s computer and your company’s network. No one can see what is being transmitted between these two points and cannot intercept what is being sent back and forth. Here’s why the VPN is an essential part of the work at home arsenal.

 

Access internal systems

One of the most important reasons to having a VPN is so your employees can access internal systems on the company’s network. This allows the remote worker to use all of the tools necessary in order for them to complete their work as if they were working from the office.

 

Secure sensitive data

Another reason for having a VPN is to protect sensitive data that your company may hold. By having employees access data and files only stored on your internal network you can control who has access to it at any time. Using a VPN when accessing those files prevents that information from being sent using unsecured methods over the regular internet. Furthermore, providing VPN access to your employees reduces the need for the files to be saved locally which can then increase the possibility of that sensitive information getting out of the organization.

 

Protect employee devices

When employees connect to a VPN, they are tapping into extra security when connecting to the internet. While most employees are likely to be working from home during the pandemic, they may have an unsecured network or opt to work from a coffee shop or other location with public Wi-Fi. This may leave their internet connection open to hackers, malware and other malicious individuals.

Using a VPN secures the information being sent on the network from others using the same network even if the network is publicly accessable. Any data passing through that connection is encrypted and, even if it were intercepted, can’t be decoded.

 

Reduce liabilities

Reducing the ability for information to be lost, stolen or mismanaged is always important but when working remotely it’s especially so. Working remotely opens you up to more opportunities for information be compromised. Your company likely holds information about customers, internal processes, and proprietary software that should not be in the hands of people outside of the organization.

Using a VPN reduces the number of ways people can gain access to your information. Sensitive information stays on the company’s network which requires proper credentials to gain access. Any files or data being transmitted across the VPN are also encrypted. All of this limits the number of ways a malicious attack can cause a compromise of data and limits data that can be accessed outside of your network.

 

Get protected

Canadian Web Hosting offers VPN and firewall solutions for businesses of all sizes. Speak with us today on how we can help you and your employees work remotely safely and securely through this pandemic.