Page 56 - Security Today, September 2018

REMOTE CONNECTIONS
FLYING UNDER THE RADAR Business travelers need to maintain secure connectivity
By Julian Weinberger
With the high avail- ability of today’s mobile network coverage and accessibility to public Wi-Fi hotspots, secure connectivity is often
overlooked by traveling professionals. While enterprises and small businesses encourage employees to stay productive by working on the road, connecting to corporate networks while traveling sub- stantially increases potential security risks including device theft, state-spon- sored surveillance, or data interception from a man-in-the-middle attack while using a public Wi-Fi hotspot.
To counter this, companies need a mo- bile strategy that secures business com- munications on the device, in transit and when stored. IT departments also need to carefully consider public hotspot security to prevent breaches of sensitive corporate data. Threats from public hotspots can be dramatically reduced by using a per- sonal firewall and a virtual private network (VPN). Additionally, digital containers can be used to protect data, like a virtual safe, and only release data once a secure connec- tion is established to the company network.
Security Best Practices
Mobile device security is very often the hardest area for companies to control, es- pecially in bring your own device (BYOD) environments where security is down to the choice of the individual device own- ers. Before traveling, employees should be instructed in security best-practices such as enabling two-factor authentication, re- mote wipe, keeping software up-to-date, staying away from unsecured Wi-Fi con- nections, disabling Bluetooth discovery mode, and encrypting corporate data. Employees should also avoid download-
ing apps from untrustworthy sources as many apps carry embedded malware and spyware that infringe privacy and share device data with unauthorized parties.
When connecting to company net- works, a secure VPN should always be used. A VPN automatically authenticates remote users whenever they connect with the company’s IT services. It creates a private tunnel between the user and the network shielding company confidential data from potential onlookers while using public Wi-Fi in malls, train stations and hotels during business trips. Allowing re- mote employees to send confidential com- pany data privately, a VPN can encrypt web browsing activity and mask the IP ad- dresses to prevent tracking and snooping.
Last year, analysts at Forrester pub- lished a report detailing how professionals can prevent cybertheft while traveling. In the “Best Practices for Minimizing Busi- ness Travel Risk” report, companies are advised to develop a three-stage check list for their traveling employees to help mini-
mize security risks. Before departure, the Forrester report recommends enabling full encryption on all digital devices, deacti- vating USB ports, deploying VPN connec- tivity and installing management tools to allow devices to be wiped remotely should they be stolen.
IT professionals are also given tips that employees should follow during the trip. This includes briefing them on any local or border customs and to always to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. Finally, Forrester counsels on steps to complete when a trip is over such as drawing up and ticking off a post-trip checklist, holding a de-brief meeting with the employee (even if nothing went wrong) and making sure company policies are up to date.
End-to-End Encryption
Certain industries have always been heav- ily regulated. Healthcare, retail, legal and financial organizations, for example, have to comply with regular checks to prove the privacy of the customer data handled has
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0918 | NETWORKING SECURITY
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