The corporate world has quickly moved from an offline framework to an online one.
According to a Gartner survey.88% of companies have allowed their employees to work from their home’s comfort.
The quick jump led developers to work remotely. Since development is the very basis of a website, educating remote developers about cybersecurity is the need of the hour.
But, how will they upgrade their skills from their homes? Is it even possible?
Well, firstly, yes, it is possible. We have put together a list of seven tips that will help you train your developers remotely.
So, let us look at them:
7 tips for training your developers from the comfort of their homes
1. Keep them in touch with the latest tech blogs.
Every day a new loophole is exposed, and a new fix is created to tackle it. This cat and mouse race is endless, but we have no other option than constant upskilling as business owners.
Cybersecurity reports come out every day. Do make sure that your developers are aware of them for everyday technology news.
Cybersecurity standards keep changing, and reading tech blogs will help them learn new things even while not training them.
Ask them to avoid using public Wi-Fis.
2. Ask them to avoid using public Wi-Fis.
Unsecured public Wi-Fi is a haven for malicious elements. They are unencrypted networks where the information can be intercepted easily.
A hacker can place himself between you and the connection point and then inject malware into your device.
While using sensitive accounts such as admin accounts, data files, and email addresses, it is better to use your private network or a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
A VPN is comparatively secure because it establishes a private network that does not allow any hacker to take a peek into your system.
So, ask your developers to use a VPN while accessing your company accounts remotely.
3. Install an SSL certificate
Don’t expect everything to be done by your developers only, get yourself into action too.To protect your website against MiTM attacks, you must install an SSL certificate.
SSL or Secure Socket Layer certificate is a security technology used to encrypt data transfer between a client and a server through Public Key Infrastructure. There are different SSL certificates that match site’s structure. To get the benefit of useful features along with cost saving, you can go with a cheap wildcard SSL that will allow to secure unlimited subdomains including a main domain. On other hand, if your site runs on few different level domains then you can go with other types of SSL provided by reputed certificate authorities. So, get your certificate today.
4. Integrate 2-factor authentication
A cyberattack can happen at any time, and the worst part about that is you never know what the medium will be, so you must ask your developers to protect the entire account through 2-factor authentication.
In 2-factor, your account will be protected by a) your password and b) a 4-6 digit one-time password that you will receive on your registered mobile number.
This will tighten up the security of your login page. Even if a hacker knows about the password, he won’t be able to log in without the OTP.
5. Give them legit tools for work.
Don’t trust their personal preferences regarding development tools if you want to safeguard your website.
Development tools are costly, which is why remote developers or freelancers opt for free tools.
Free tools can contain malware as they are open source. By using them, you are putting your website at severe risk of malware infestation.
So, we recommend you to offer your tools to the developer. This way, you will be able to keep track of your tool’s use and ensure safety.
6. Strengthen your passwords
Passwords are your first and last line of defense (unless, of course, if you have already integrated a 2-factor authentication); if breached, all your data goes for a toss.
There is a high chance that if a developer is working on your website, they are bound to have your admin passwords too.
So, ask them to change the passwords from time to time frequently. An ideal password is at least 16 characters long and a blend of upper/lower case & special symbols.
Also, ask them not to use the same password everywhere. For example, if they have five different login accesses, they must use five different passwords.
7. Attend to their devices
Providing a separate device to each remote employee is impossible for many businesses, which means they are bound to trust their developer’s device.
But, trusting someone’s personal device is difficult. They might be visiting unsolicited websites for personal reasons.
In that case, you can educate them about identifying whether the website they are visiting is legit or not.
Note- A legit website has an SSL certificate installed. A gray padlock is always visible ahead of its URL. It does not feature irrelevant popups. It always has genuine contact information featured in the contact menu.
To Conclude
Since the pandemic, remote working has become the norm. Employers now prefer a remote workforce that can handle business tasks from their beds.
But safety becomes a big concern when you don’t know the devices and connections they are operating from.
A malware-infected device can put an entire company at a massive risk of cyber theft.
So, to eliminate the risk, you must put these seven points into practice and educate your developers about the risks associated with cybercrime.
Make them understand the importance of all the points mentioned above and secure your remote business operations today.
