Remote Access Security: 5 Best Practices for Remote Workers

Remote and hybrid workplaces are here to stay. In August 2023, 20% of U.S. employees worked from home at least once. By 2025, more than 36 million U.S. employees will work remotely, up from 19 million in 2019. That’s good news for employers who want the widest talent pool and employees who want to do their best work from anywhere.

However, it’s also potentially good news for cyber criminals, who can exploit remote access policies to compromise cloud data. If your organization doesn’t have a comprehensive remote access security policy, now is the time to implement one.

Granting your employees the access they need while locking threat actors out is a delicate balance. You’ll need a policy that’s flexible enough to accommodate legitimate users from a variety of devices and locations. At the same time, it should be tough enough to deter sophisticated threat actors and limit the damage from potential attacks.

To craft the right remote access security solutions for your organization, you’ll want to require multiple authentication methods, adopt a zero-trust mindset, and educate your employees about the threats they’re likely to encounter.

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5 reliable remote access security strategies

Remote work security requires a different approach than in an office setting. In the past, a threat actor would have to secure an employee's password, infiltrate a physical workspace, find a particular computer, and extract files without setting off any security software. Now, an attacker could find a password from an old data breach, hide their IP address with a proxy server, use a smartphone in their pocket, and download files just like a legitimate user would. 

Detecting and thwarting threat actors is still possible, but it requires smart cybersecurity policies, sophisticated software, and proactive staff.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Of all the remote work security best practices you can implement, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the simplest. In an MFA setup, entering the correct username and password is not enough. Instead, users must also enter a randomly generated, time-sensitive code. Older MFA setups sent these codes via text message. Newer methods use dedicated authenticator applications, which tend to be more secure. 

MFA is not foolproof, as savvy threat actors can coax users into sharing their temporary codes. However, MFA is still a considerable roadblock for most potential attackers. Google, for example, discovered that MFA prevented 100% of automated bot attacks and more than three-quarters of other unauthorized login attempts.

Zero trust network access (ZTNA)

Over the past few decades, organizations have used virtual private networks (VPNs) to facilitate remote employee access. However, VPNs may not offer the cybersecurity that IT departments need — or the performance that employees expect. Instead, consider a zero trust network access (ZTNA) solution as a more effective alternative.

As long as a user provides proper login credentials, most VPNs will give them full access to a remote system. ZTNA, on the other hand, assumes that any account could be compromised — even one with the correct username and password. As such, ZTNA systems may restrict user privileges if they log in from an unfamiliar location or device, or deny access altogether without MFA. ZTNA solutions don’t retain login information between sessions and will occasionally require users to re-enter their credentials while they’re working. In effect, a threat actor must work extremely hard to log into a ZTNA system, and may only receive minimal access in return.

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies

Maintaining your organization’s remote access security is simplest when your staff uses company-issued devices. However, that’s just not how most people operate in the remote and hybrid era. More than two-thirds of employees use their own devices for work — even if it’s against a company’s official policies.

Instead of fighting against employees’ preferences, work with them to craft a sensible bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy. Set clear guidelines for what kind of data they can access, where they can access it from, and how they can prove their identities while accessing it. Show them how to install the latest security updates for their smartphones, computers, and networking devices. Ensure they maintain good password hygiene on all of their devices and accounts.

Continuous monitoring

If a threat actor does gain access to your systems, you’ll want to know about it as soon as possible. This is where continuous monitoring via user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) can come in handy. UEBA tracks legitimate user behavior over time, and if an account behaves in an unusual manner — even with proper credentials —  the system can flag it. Then, an administrator can restrict access and investigate the matter.

UEBA works because legitimate users tend to behave in predictable ways. They log in from certain locations, at certain times of day, and with certain devices. They need a consistent set of files, folders, and apps to do their jobs. If a user logs in from an unfamiliar device on the other side of the world and starts downloading sensitive data they don’t need, UEBA can raise a red flag.

Employee training

After you devise a set of remote access security best practices, you’ll need to communicate them to your employees. Remember that threat actors often treat humans as the weak link in a cybersecurity system. A well-placed phishing scheme can compromise an organization’s security just as effectively as code exploits or malware.

Teach employees how to recognize common social engineering tricks. Show them phishing emails that purport to be from reputable organizations but are actually full of spelling mistakes, formatting oddities, and misleading hyperlinks. Remind them that attackers often try to create a false sense of urgency by exploiting their fears or curiosities. Insist that they remain skeptical, even when a message claims it’s from a friend, family member, or coworker. Create and share a clear reporting procedure so the IT and security teams are alerted to each social engineering attempt.

Encourage workers to use different passwords for different accounts, and to change those passwords often. On an organizational level, you could also invest in a password manager, which combines the convenience of saved passwords with the strength of randomly generated strings of characters. Ensure that each employee sets up MFA protocols for both their work and personal accounts, as compromising one could also affect the other.

With some fundamental cybersecurity knowledge at their disposal, your employees can be your strongest asset against threat actors.

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Protect your cloud data with zero-trust solutions

Between stringent authentication and zero trust principles, your remote access security plan will have a solid foundation. However, if you’re still using VPNs to facilitate remote workers, your data may be at risk. VPNs tend to prioritize access over security, assuming that any successful login attempt is a legitimate one. They require a great deal of manual configuration, consume valuable network bandwidth, and increase latency for the end user. 

To protect your cloud data and help your remote employees work more efficiently, implement a ZTNA solution instead. Read the Lookout e-book, 3 Reasons VPNs Can't Protect Your Private Apps and Data to learn how to transition your organization to a zero-trust setup.