Under the strange and crazy circumstances we're currently finding ourselves in with COVID-19, we have been vigorously planning for the very real possibility that you may be forced to send your staff home to work remotely.

So what does that look like for your business?

For those staff that have a desktop they use in the office for work, users could be set up with a secure remote access application, so they can essentially log in and use their work computer as if they were sitting at their desk. Ask your IT provider for assistance with this.

We're offering our clients Logmein access, which has Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) as an added layer of security, but there are other options like TeamViewer, ScreenConnect, WebEX, to name a few.

For those that have laptops, VPN access could be another solution, giving the users conditional access to whatever reseources they will need.

Your business may already be fully cloud-based, so you already have the ability to work remotely. However, there are still plenty of things that need to be considered.

It's also important to note that suppliers are already low on IT hardware due to stock shortages. If you need to purchase IT hardware to set up for a remote office, do so ASAP.

Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have the option to work remotely. Some are lucky enough to be able to split and stagger shifts, but for some none of this is an option.

Working Remotely from an IT Perspective from Martin Haak.

Internet

With everyone working at home, it's going to put a strain on your current internet connection. We have solutions, even if temporary, to boost our clients' current bandwidth as quickly as we can, should we need to.

Even if you can address increasing the bandwidth at the office, the internet connection employees will be using at home also needs to be considered. If they are still on ADSL, it's unlikely to be adequate. Even NBN users may already have speed and connectivity issues at home. Often it's not the connection itself that's the problem, and can often be addressed with a more suitable router and/or wifi hardware.

Communication

Once everyone is working from home, communication is going to need to be different to what you're currently used to.

Email or telephone is not going to be practical, both for client and internal communication.

Most of our clients use Office 365. Part of that is Teams, and it's Microsoft's collaboration and messaging platform. It's something that can be set up and implemented relatively quickly if you have to.

Ideally, this works best if all your data is in the Microsoft cloud, but if the data is still on the server, Teams can be used simply for communication.

We are in the process of migrating some clients to the cloud in light of all of this.

In terms of phones, we are currently testing the most suitable Smartphone App. With this app, you can set up mobiles to act as office handsets. i.e. answering an transferring calls as if you were in the office. Alternatively, we could divert the office number to mobiles, which doesn't provide as much flexibility, but it's better than nothing, and can be done instantly.

Prepare for Internet and Cloud service disruptions

As more people move to remote working and communications-type services such as WhatsApp, Zoom and Skype, there is a good chance that accessing these services will start to slow down as more people choke the network.

If your team are going to be using their personal internet connection to do their work you might also find them running out of mobile data, having no network available or having difficulties accessing the things they need.

Check your current telco plans to make sure you don’t get throttled at a critical time.
Having some alternative solutions in mind ahead of time could actually save you time. If you use Zoom and this gets slow, what’s your alternative?
If you haven’t tested how things like your office VPN work when everyone starts using it you might want to have it checked out.

Thanks to the guys at Cynch Security for the above tips.

Security

Microsoft has some great tips for working remotely and securely.

With many employees suddenly working from home, there are things an organisation and employees can do to help remain productive without increasing cybersecurity risk.

While employees in this new remote work situation will be thinking about how to stay in touch with colleagues and coworkers using chat applications, shared documents, and replacing planned meetings with conference calls, they may not be thinking about cyberattacks. We are looking urgently at new scenarios and new threat vectors as your organisation become a distributed organisation overnight, with less time to make detailed plans or run pilots.

Based on our experiences working with customers who have had to pivot to new working environments quickly, I want to share some of those best practices:

You’ve heard me say it time and again when it comes to multi-factor authentication (MFA): 100 percent of your employees, 100 percent of the time. The single best thing you can do to improve security for employees working from home is to turn on MFA for any cloud based service that offers it. We already have this in place for O365, and our support is ready to help employees who get stuck. We should discuss what other cloud services you're currently using, and how we can better secure those.

Longer term, once we do move all files to the cloud, I recommend finding and labeling the most critical data, so you can track and audit usage when employees work from home. We must not assume that all networks are secure, or that all employees are in fact working from home when working remotely.

It's important that home computers are 'fit for purpose' and have adequate security in place. This includes using a computer with the latest operating system and the latest software updates. It also includes a working and up to date antivirus software. We can provide an assessment and report for all employees who will be using a home computer.

With this increase in the use of personal devices accessing company data, using Azure AD Conditional Access and Microsoft Intune app protection policies together helps manage and secure corporate data in approved apps on these personal devices, so employees can remain productive.

Our good friends from Cynch security have the following solid advice:

Keep an eye out for more scams and ‘fake news’

We’re going to depend more and more on what the news is telling us and seeking government advice on what we need to do during this time. This, unfortunately, gives fraudsters the opportunity to mislead people into either giving up sensitive information like passwords inadvertently, clicking on a dodgy link or opening a dangerous attachment. We’re already seeing an increase in fake ‘coronavirus maps’ which can infect computers and steal passwords.

Have a think about the resources and news feeds you will trust to get accurate and up-to-date reliable information from. At Cynch we’re closely monitoring information shared by the Australian Department of Health and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
Protect yourself when browsing the web by installing an adBlocker and DNS filtering
If something doesn’t seem quite right, pause, question it and contact someone like Scamwatch to verify what you’re seeing is real.

Connecting the laptops or mobile device used by your team for work into a home network introduces risks you need to consider. Keep in mind that you are connecting devices containing potentially confidential work information into a possibly ‘dirty’ or insecure network. If a device at home has something dangerous running on it (like malware), this could potentially infect other devices on the same network.

Have you and your team members checked your router settings to make sure that default passwords have been reset and firmware updated?
Have you ensured that family laptops/devices/IOT devices are appropriately protected with updated software?
Have you enabled a password/pin/biometric on all your devices so curious children who will also be in isolation with you don’t accidentally send an email to a client?

OH&S

We're not OH&S experts, and are not in the position to provide advice in this area. However, if this is something you haven't considered, we would strongly urge you to have a look at how this relates to work safety, and providing a suitable and safe remote workplace. A good place to start is here is Safe Work Australia and The Business Victoria site, or relevant site for your State. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/remote-work and https://www.business.vic.gov.au/.../occupational-health...

Again, we would suggest you get advice from an HR or Legal professional. Happy to introduce you to someone, if you don't currently know anyone in this employment space.

Microsoft have compiled a useful checklist for working remotely.

Remote work checklist:

Set up your workspace

Find a space in your home where you can concentrate. If you're somewhere with background distractions, use background blur in Microsoft Teams to keep teammates focused.

Communicate often

Your rhythm with online work from home might look different than it does in the office. For example, you may be balancing work and childcare at the same time. Communicate your schedule to your coworkers so that they know when to reach out to you. Teams has a chat feature, but you might want to look at something like Voxer, which is like a walkie talkie app. We use this internally for chatting as our team is mostly remote. However, it's important to not use something like Voxer for work-related discussions that you want to keep documented, and easily searchable. You might want to keep it all in Teams, which also has the ability to record voice messages if some prefer this over typing.

Maintain healthy boundaries

Without the normal workday signals, like a commute, it can be harder to unplug. Make sure to take breaks, stay hydrated, and give yourself opportunities to “clock out” from remote work at the end of the day.

Embrace online meetings

Make sure all meetings include a virtual “join” option so that team members can join from wherever they are working. Turn video on so your team can interact face to face and feel more connected.

Be mindful and inclusive

A crowded conference call can make it difficult for people to share their opinions. Pause frequently to allow time for questions and remind attendees that they can use the chat window to share their thoughts.

Record your meetings

When you start a meeting, hit “record.” Team members who aren’t able to join can watch later or search the automatically generated transcript for important information. That way, people can easily review anything they missed or need repeated.

Make up for missing hallway talk

The quick chat at the water cooler is what many people miss the most when working remotely. Instead, be deliberate about and connecting with your coworkers. Think about chat messages as your virtual water cooler and set yourself a reminder to check in with people regularly.

Bring the team together, even if virtually

Working remotely can feel a bit isolating. It’s important to create opportunities for the whole team to virtually get together, whether it’s large brainstorms with the Microsoft Whiteboard app or daily check-ins over a virtual coffee.

Have fun!

Obviously, all of this has happened very quickly. We've done our best to compile this list as comprehensively as possible under the frantic conditions. If we've missed anything, please let us know. And in turn, if we think of anything else, we will edit this post as required.

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Prepare for Internet and Cloud service disruptions

Keep an eye out for more scams and ‘fake news’