Did you know that cybercrime will cost businesses worldwide $10.5 trillion each year by 2025? To ensure that you don’t fall prey to this high figure, understanding cybersecurity basics is essential when you’re working from home.

Here, we’re going to discuss some key ways that you can keep yourself safe during remote work. Read on to get a better idea of how to protect your machine, your finances, and your data.

1. Use Multi-Factor Authentication

Many people have one single authentication feature on their personal devices. However, if you operate a work-from-home business or work remotely, you likely have sensitive company information stored within the hard drive. You’ll need to choose two or more ways to authenticate your identity before accessing the machine.

Passwords work well assuming that they’re strong, but hackers can easily crack them if they’re your only security measure. Consider adding additional facial or fingerprint recognition software to your machine.

2. Don’t Click Anything Suspicious

A lot of malware installs itself onto computers because of user error. Maybe you clicked a nefarious pop-up or an unreputable email. These are all common ways that people accidentally wind up with their data being compromised.

If you have any doubts whatsoever about the validity of something you see, don’t click on it. You’re likely to save yourself a lot of strife. If it looks like an email from your boss or a colleague, you can reach out to them directly if the message looks at all suspicious.

3. Protect Vulnerable Documents

In addition to protecting your entire computer, you also will need to password-protect the files and folders that contain your most sensitive business information. Make sure that you install top-notch security software onto each individual file.

This ensures that no one can access data even if they gain unauthorized entry into your computer. You also can store files on secure flash drives that are password-protected. This keeps your information separate so you don’t need to worry about not having a backup.

4. Erase Unnecessary Information

It’s inevitable that you will eventually no longer need a hard drive or the data stored on it. However, throwing it into the trash without erasing the information on it is a surefire way to fall prey to data theft. You’ll need to permanently erase all sensitive information from its memory.

This requires special hard disk erasure software that stops the information from being recoverable. Each verified erasure also provides you with documentation that showcases the information and statistics behind the deletion. You can rest assured that your information won’t fall into the wrong hands.

Beyond Cybersecurity Basics

Now that you know some cybersecurity basics that will keep your small business safe, it’s time to learn more about working from home the right way.

Check out the “tech” tab on our home page to learn some of the apps that can make your work life easier. You might also be interested in the “business” tab if you’re looking for new and exciting ways to reach clients.