The shift towards remote working in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed like a short-term fix, especially as many companies made plans to have workers return to their offices in the summer.

The continued rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, however, has had many companies put return to office plans on hold or shifted employees back to remote work.

In fact, some big-name companies have said that remote work will continue for a considerable time:

• Google announced July 27 plans to allow its 200,000 full-time and contract employees to work from home at least through July 2021
• Amazon said corporate workers will be allowed to work remotely through at least January 2021
• com plans to allow employees to work from home through the remainder of 2020

Changing the Fundamental Way We Work

Other companies see an even longer trend towards remote work with Facebook saying many of its employees can continue remote work for the next decade.

And Twitter and Shopify have said that some of its workers may never have to return to the office and can continue to work remotely indefinitely.

It is just not the big tech companies that are keeping workers away from the office as Statista published a paper on July 3 that showed just 17 percent of those surveyed worked five-plus days a week remotely prior to COVID-19 and now 44 percent are working five-plus days remotely.

Protecting Your Company’s Sensitive Data

The Wall Street Journal reported on July 24 that not all companies are happy with the results of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regardless of the productivity concerns with remote work, companies have discovered that having employees away from the office exposes their customer, employee and intellectual property data to privacy and security breaches.

One way to protect your business in the era of remote work is the use of a VPN or virtual private network. VPNs are a highly effective way of protecting all data housed in your network without interrupting the regular flow of business.

How VPNs Work

A VPN essentially creates a private network across a public network for your company.

Using encryption and other security tactics, a VPN protects your data, allowing only permitted users to gain access to the network.

Authorized users in your business can send and receive data that runs across public networks using all their connected devices—desktops, laptops, smartphones or tablets—with the same security as if they were connected to your business’s private network.

Your online searches and other activities are masked as outsides cannot see your IP address, network, or geographic location.

The key to VPNs security and keeping hackers away from your information is the use of encrypted tunnels to transmit data.

The Value of Protecting Your Business Privacy

Privacy is a core element in developing long-lasting business relationships and becoming a trusted authority in any industry.

It is paramount that you put privacy first for your customers and employees, especially in the COVID-19 era. It was reported that in the first week of March there were a million cyberattacks per day as bad actors probed companies for online security weaknesses.

If you are ready to take business privacy to new heights and create added layers of trust, our team is here to help you. Privacy is essential to building that trust, and we can help you explore the power of VPNs in protecting your brand, employees, clients, and stakeholders.

Contact ATSI today to learn how VPNs can help your business succeed with confidence that your network and data are secure.