Most companies today operate in a distributed environment with teams that work from different locations. These teams are often called remote development teams. Companies like Amazon and IBM have been doing this for decades and everyone is starting to catch on to how effective these teams can be.
By lowering the cost of business by reducing the need for office space, remote development teams also make it easier for companies to hire top talent all around the world.
Working with a remote development team is often a great way to increase efficiency and keep costs down. But it also comes with some risks, including the chance of security breaches. To protect your company from this risk, here are some steps you can take.
1. Control Access to Your Data
First, you need to make sure your developers know that they need to protect your company’s data from unauthorized access. There are plenty of ways to do this, but it’s especially important if you’re working with a remote team.
Security software such as can help you keep your employees on track. When the company is off, you can keep things running smoothly by having the right team member manage permissions. Some of the popular identity management solutions you can check out include:
- Oracle Identity Management
- Microsoft Azure Active Directory
- AWS Identity and Access Management
- OneLogin
- Auth0
Additionally, you should do your best to make sure everyone involved knows how to use security software and knows how to protect your company’s data. Employees should also be encouraged to report breaches to you in the event that they happen, so you can stop the problem from escalating.
2. Use Remote File Access Solutions
Development teams need to be able to access files in a secure way. While many companies rely on VPNs, their performance and security are subject to their provider.
To combat this, implementing a secure remote file server access solution will ensure that your company’s assets are protected. File servers are often deployed in different regions so remote employees can access files securely.
The benefits of a remote file server over a VPN include low administration costs, ease of use, and compatibility with your application. By using file servers, you can avoid the need to maintain a dedicated VPN network, which can be costly.
3. Encrypt Your Cloud Applications
While it is possible for developers to do their work on the cloud, some companies are hesitant to make it happen. The reason for this might be due to fear of losing control over their data or even fear of providing a target for hackers.
To address this, you need to enable security features on your applications and work with cloud security providers. This will mean creating applications that are not only secure but also easy to manage. This will also protect your company’s reputation as a trusted vendor.
Your cloud apps can also be hosted on different servers, making them even more secure. To help with this, you can go with a provider such as AppGuard, which offers secure cloud services for your team.
4. Use Encrypted Communication
Communication between remote workers can sometimes be a problem. It’s hard to maintain open lines of communication when people are spread out all over the world. You can address this problem by using two-way encryption in your communications.
Two-way encryption encrypts data in both directions, so there is no way for an attacker to view your company’s communication if they are spying on you. This allows remote employees to communicate without fear that a third party has access to their conversation.
5. Control Virtual Machine Access
Working with a remote team can be great for efficiency but it can be risky. If someone with malicious intent can compromise your virtual machine, it can pose a serious security threat to your business.
One way to help with this is by implementing a virtual machine hypervisor solution. This will ensure that no one can execute code on your machine that doesn’t have access to your operating system.
Additionally, the virtual machine hypervisor will enforce strong security policies that will be enforced at the BIOS level.
Bare metal servers are an option to protect your company’s virtual machines, but a virtual machine hypervisor is an option that should be used when it’s available and the virtual machine hypervisor offers a wide range of benefits over bare metal servers.
6. Provide Distributed Password Storage
At a bare minimum, remote workers will need to log into their workstations to carry out their daily tasks. If they are responsible for accessing a wide range of sensitive data, having access to all of their own data should be a given.
This is where a distributed password storage solution can help. It will create a master password that can be shared across all users. Each user has their own password and, if they lose it, they can recreate it.
The benefits of a password storage solution include a high level of privacy, good security, and fast access to critical data.
7. Build Crisis Management Plans & Policies
If your company relies on remote workforces, it’s essential to plan for potential emergencies. It’s also essential to have a crisis management plan that is fully in place to help with managing a crisis.
The plan will outline how employees will handle a crisis. How can the company get out the message to their customers and employees? Where should they send employees for help?
You can also employ a media and communications team to help plan for what will happen in the event of a crisis. These teams will support you by doing live broadcasts from your remote workforce to help them communicate the situation to others.
Developing a crisis management plan doesn’t need to be complicated. A simple incident management document will help to create a more stable company and increase employee productivity.
8. Deploy Micro-segmented Applications
To ensure that your application is as secure as possible, you can deploy micro-segmented applications. This is a concept used in IT that means that each component of a multi-stage application is isolated.
This is achieved by installing individual servers in each segment of the application. This will allow only that small amount of information to be accessed by that segment of the application.
If there is an issue with one of these segments, the rest of the application will not be affected, even if someone is accessing that segment of the application.
