Government entities and defense contractors are no strangers to requiring annual trainings for their employees. If you’ve ever been victimized by the inability to select “next” until the prompt is done speaking, then you are most likely well versed in topics such as: IT Security Awareness, Ethics Awareness, and Insider Threat Awareness Training.
Remote Work Trainings
What we are starting to see this year is the implementation of remote work and trainings on safeguarding information and making smart choices while working “on the go.” Some of these concepts may be new to a large portion of the new telework community, but many who have worked in the cyber realm aren’t surprised at the information given. In fact, they’re more shocked that it took COVID protocols to make these types of security trainings mandatory.
Remote Work Countermeasures
Let’s take a look at what 2023 has to offer in terms of applying these countermeasures to the remote worker:
- Be aware of, or disable geolocation capabilities on devices or applications.
- Do not use public domain wifi while on a government computer without going through a VPN.
- Turn on security features if you are using your own computer or mobile device. Simple things such as: enabling the PIN, fingerprint, facial ID, can help prevent someone getting into your device should you accidentally leave it at a remote location.
- Keep your devices up to date with software or patches. Most of the time your company will push an update. Rather than clicking the “remind me later” button 15 times, do the update when prompted.
- See something, say something. If you are noticing while ‘out and about’ that your connection seems off, delayed, etc… don’t risk it. Turn your computer off and notify who your organization designates these issues to.
OPM Publishes Resources
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has published telework.gov, a free resource that provides best practices, tips, tricks, tools, and reporting methods at the federal government level. Other resources such as The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has guidance about inspection policies and procedures concerning worksites in an employee’s home. Check out these free resources to stay informed and be best protected.
