No person is an island — despite the recent public health mandates on social distancing that might make us feel as though we are. Yet, sometimes these seemingly arbitrary constraints can catalyze innovations and approaches to common challenges – and everyone wins. In a recent tweet from entertainer Jane Lynch, she provides an example of her sister’s (a kindergarten teacher) ingenuity in dealing with the constraints of social distancing on her young students by creating a highway of desk/cars.
As a young student, I would have jumped for joy for a race car desk. Setting up activities that are both fun and safe is an essential, yet challenging goal that – with a little ingenuity and creativity – we can all achieve.
What is digital distancing?
Like social distancing, digital distancing is the practice of isolating user access to networks, apps, and workloads to reduce the spread of malicious activity, and more effectively contain outbreaks. With an increasingly distributed and remote workforce becoming the norm for most enterprises, digital distancing has become the secret to success in mitigating widespread, fast-moving risks.
Isolation – whether at the network, app, or workload level – is a critical best practice to thwart an attacker’s ability to jump from one aspect of an enterprise network to another, in an attempt to escape detection and steal data or computing resources. In other words, digital isolation can protect your computing environment as well as that of your online neighbors (much like wearing masks and social distancing does in our 3D reality).
How does digital distancing work?
Let’s use the analogy of the student racecar desks as a way to understand the three key steps to an effective digital distancing set-up.
Step One:
The ‘carpet’ roadway represents network isolation. Just as each student has his or her own dedicated pathway to their desk, each remote worker should have their own dedicated and trusted connection to corporate-owned assets. In other words, use a VPN that encrypts communications and masks your location and IP address so that no one can snoop the traffic or hijack the session.
Pro-tip: Separate personal computing activities from work-related ones by enabling both networks on your home wireless access point, and switch between them accordingly (note: every Wi-Fi router offers dual-homed support, but most folks don’t take advantage of it).
Once you start using both networks, in addition to improving security, you’ll likely notice a bump in network performance as well.
Step Two:
The safety screen at each desk represents strong passwords and next-gen antivirus (NGAV). Just as each student has their own dedicated workspace protected from outside influence, a strong password and NGAV ensures that only authorized users and programs have access to computing resources.
Pro-tip: Install NGAV on all your remote employee workstations – Macs and Windows systems – to combat fast-moving cyber threats. Better yet, implement multi-purpose endpoint security solutions that combine NGAV and EDR into a single agent for simpler and more efficient endpoint security.
Sharing passwords can be just as dangerous as sharing a toothbrush, so users must use distinct, unique, and strong passwords that they keep to themselves, and are combined with multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Step Three:
Exercise good judgment – especially with ‘smart’ devices. Just like a schoolyard bully, cyber attackers take advantage of chaotic bad news and the confusion and perceived weaknesses of their victims that may result from it. For example, 64% of surveyed financial firms reported increased wire fraud transfer attempts in the past year (a 17% increase from 2019). Be vigilant and skeptical in your online activities, knowing that cybercriminals have stepped up their game.
Pro-tip: Consider creating a safe room – one devoid of any ‘smart’ devices – to conduct sensitive work that requires privacy. Cyber attackers tend to enable the proximity settings for device microphones and cameras when breaching a home network, to capture proprietary data or information that can assist them in their attacks.
With remote work becoming the new normal, it’s important for you and your organization to put good cybersecurity practices in place and adapt security approaches and models to mitigate potential security breaches.
Interested to learn more? Download our recent eBook titled ‘The Future of Remote Work’ for more insights on how to overcome the complexities of managing and securing a globally distributed workforce.
