Maintain Compliance while Employees Work From Home
Compliance remains key while working from home. Over the past year, companies have been faced with the task of having to completely restructure their work environments. Working remotely has become the new normal across different industries. Even as vaccines become more readily available in the following months and businesses open back up, there doesn’t seem to be an immediate rush to return to the office.
With more team members working – especially those who must adhere to HIPAA, FERPA, or SOX, the need for compliance is greater than ever before. Remote working is here to stay and security can’t be compromised.
A Change in Work Habits Can Put Compliance and Company Data at Risk
No one was prepared in the workplace when Covid-19 hit. The rush of transitioning from in-office to remote work, often meant protocol wasn’t followed perfectly. Now that working from home has gone from temporary to permanent in many cases, there’s less room for inadvertently failing to be compliant.
A previous survey from Biscom revealed that when employees transition to working from home, or are they are laid off, they frequently take and/or share sensitive company data, and some enterprises are not prepared to prevent this from happening.
Behaviors of entry-level to senior-level employees in eight different industries including healthcare, technology, and retail revealed that the likelihood of employees taking company data was high and that more than often, the company was unaware. More than 1 in 4 respondents say they took company data with them when leaving their company.
Of course, employees need access to the same systems and materials from home as they would in-office. However, there is a need for a better handle on compliance and, data storage, and sharing.
A Compliant Solution
Private and sensitive company data storage is also a top priority. “The survey’s results reveal employees as a big security hole and it’s unintentional,” said John Lane, CISO of Biscom. “Companies can use this information to understand how they can protect their data. Whether it’s updating employee training, establishing stricter company policies to prevent data theft, or obtaining secure tools to store and track company data. Companies should focus on making sure the tools are easy to use to help the employee do the right thing.”
Ease of Use is Key
In another study, The Threat Within, Biscom stresses the importance of understanding the security gap. “When it comes to security compliance, while companies are investing more, apathy is the leading cause of workers bypassing security policies. 78% of respondents acknowledged and agreed with their company’s security policies, but older employees simply do not care, and millennials admitted that they were too lazy to comply. Now, in the age remote work, adherence to security standards/compliance to company policy is uncertain.”
Biscom offers secure fax and file sharing solutions for highly regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, legal, and the government to share files securely and maintain ease of use. Find the best solution to suit your needs.