6 Top Tips to Secure your Company Wi-Fi

Providing Wi-Fi access to your customers and employees can be good for business. Customers tend to seek out free Wi-Fi, and employees can often do their jobs more efficiently with wireless access. However there are severe risks for businesses when providing Wi-Fi if not implemented correctly (e.g. Payroll data security can be compromised). To help secure your company network the following you should address the following questions.

1. Are your employee’s unsuspecting security risks?

Many IT security firms identify “people” as the main security threat to business IT networks. Without the correct training, vigilance and IT processes in place employees can easily and unwittingly compromise a business network. For example, if an employee falls victim to a phishing attack then everything they do on their device can potentially be seen. When coupled with work Wi-Fi access this can be a significant risk to the business. Phishing via Wi-Fi is a relatively easy task for hackers. It can  provide hackers with access to a business’ resources and compromise the entire network. The correct staff training, vigilance and IT processes can help reduce this security risk.

2. Do you have appropriate access restrictions to your company Wi-Fi network?

B2C businesses can attract more customers by providing public access to their network. However having employees on the same open network can lead to packet sniffing and phishing attacks. Because of this hackers could potentially gain sensitive business data through your public network. Enabling private access to the network for employees will improve your network security as access will be password protected. However passwords can be guessed, transferred, phished, etc., and the network itself could be brute force attacked. If your business does have a wireless network, be sure that the data that can be accessed on the network is not sensitive.

3. Is your router locked away?

This is an obvious one, but it’s worth mentioning as many security features on routers can be overcome by simply resetting the system. So make sure that your router is under lock and key or at least be sure that access to it is restricted.

4. Are you still using the default router password?

This is another simple one, but one that could be easily overlooked. By doing a quick search online you can easily find the default login details for routers. So if you’re using default login details for your router, be sure to update them. And make sure you use a complex and unique password to make unwanted access more difficult.

5. Is your router software up to date?

Tech companies providing routers regularly release updates to software. These updates can improve security and protect against the latest viruses and attacks. By keeping your router software up to date you are ensuring to the best of your ability (and the ability of your router provider) that your router will not be the weak point of your network.

6. Does your business really need Wi-Fi?

Here at Paycheck Plus data protection and security are primary concerns for us. We ensure that our data and our client’s data are protected to the highest possible standards. As part of this we made the tough but necessary decision to NOT provide company Wi-Fi.

If providing Wi-Fi is not crucial to your business and you have sensitive data to protect then we suggest not providing Wi-Fi. The risks may be too severe. But every business is unique and each business will need to do a “risk vs reward” trade-off analysis when choosing whether or not to provide Wi-Fi. If your business is already providing Wi-Fi we suggest restricting access, keeping sensitive data off the Wi-Fi network and training your staff to ensure that they don’t put your network at risk.

For more security related posts read:

12 Non-Tech Payroll Security Tips

Payroll Security & Avoid falling victim to scams

Ireland’s First ISO 27701 Accredited Payroll Bureau

What our ISO accreditations mean for your payroll

Paycheck Plus, Your Outsourced Payroll Provider

Paycheck Plus is an award-winning outsourced payroll provider, serving businesses across Ireland and the UK. With industry-leading accuracy levels, strict levels of confidentiality and top-rated payroll processes.  We provide comprehensive, ISO and ISAE 3402 accredited, payroll outsourcing services to organisations of all sizes.

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