Small and large businesses alike have seen the value of a hybrid work environment because of the flexibility it provides to employees, so hybrid workspaces have been on the rise. Remote work does bring with it questions about security and reliable connections to the office network when employees are away. To address these problems, cybersecurity tools have been improving quickly, and if your business is shifting to a hybrid workspace, then there are a host of Cisco products to consider in order to provide both flexible work schedules and uncompromising security!
DUO Multifactor Authentication
When everyone works in the office, a suspicious login attempt can be identified by an unfamiliar location, but if your employees work remotely, then this can become the norm. As employees travel and access the network from different places, a secure way of verifying login attempts becomes necessary. Cisco DUO is a multifactor authentication (MFA) service that your business can use to verify each unique login attempt while preventing unauthorized access to the network in the event of compromised credentials. DUO is an easily scalable MFA that also allows a business to monitor the security updates on connected devices and prevent logins from potentially vulnerable systems!
DNS Security
Domain Name System (DNS) security helps filter out malicious content when employees are using the internet to perform work. A tool like Cisco Umbrella will verify the security of the domain, URL, or other internet-based resource that tries to establish a connection with a work device. If Umbrella determines a connection to be malicious, it will block it and notify your IT team immediately that something has gone wrong. DNS security can even be helpful if a malicious program on your device tries to begin an attack because Umbrella could prevent the malware from accessing the malicious server it needs to perform the attack.
AnyConnect VPN
VPNs have become a common part of hybrid work, but Cisco’s AnyConnect allows your business to bring together the security of a VPN and the power of other Cisco products. With AnyConnect, company data will be secured from being intercepted or snooped through when employees work from public Wi-Fi networks as they travel. This means the common places for malicious activity, such as hotels and cafes, will become viable workspaces for employees on the move. And if something does go wrong, then the other Cisco security services put in place can help immediately respond to and remediate potential threats before they become a problem for your entire network.
Summary
Hybrid workspaces no longer have to sacrifice cybersecurity for convenience as employees gain the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. With the right IT infrastructure setup, any business can access the benefits of remote work, which can improve the quality of every employee’s workday. Our team here at Robinett Consulting want to help small, medium, and large businesses work safely, so if you think any of these Cisco products can bring value to your hybrid workspace, then we are ready and waiting to talk to you about implementing the security tools you need today!
