What is the best-case scenario for employees to ensure the security standards in their virtual workspaces are the same as the physical office?

on October 23, 2020, 2:36 PM PDT Amazon's Desktop as a Service product can virtualize the computing needs of your entire workforce, secure business data, and make life easier for remote employees and IT teams. Amazon WorkSpaces Illustration: Lisa Hornung/iStockPhoto The modern workforce is more distributed than ever before, and the SEE: Cloud data storage policy (TechRepublic Premium) Because growth has been slow, many businesses may still be unaware of the advantages offered by products like Amazon WorkSpaces. Read on to learn why this new way of deploying workstations may be worth the investment, and the way of the future. What is Amazon WorkSpaces? Amazon WorkSpaces is Amazon’s entry into the Amazon describes WorkSpaces as “an easy way to provide a secure, managed, cloud-based virtual desktop experience to your end-users,” and said that its cloud-native, fully managed design means IT teams “don’t have to worry about procuring, deploying, and managing a complex environment.” SEE: Top cloud providers in 2020: AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, hybrid, SaaS players (ZDNet) Amazon WorkSpaces virtual machines (VMs) can be deployed in both Linux and Windows formats and are designed to fill the role of basic end-user workstations. To fill various workstation roles, a number of different bundles are available that allocate more or less CPU power, GBs of RAM, GPUs, video memory, SSD root and user storage, and software. IT teams can use default Windows/Linux images or create...

Summary. With the Covid-19 epidemic, many employees — and their managers — are finding themselves working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare. First, it’s important to understand the common challenges, from isolation to distractions to lack of face-to-face supervision. Then managers can support remote workers with 1) regular, structured check-ins; 2) multiple communication options (and established norms for each; 3) opportunities for social interactions; and 4) ongoing encouragement and emotional support. In these difficult times, we’ve made In response to the uncertainties presented by Covid-19, many companies and universities have asked their employees to work remotely. While Although it is always preferable to establish clear remote-work policies and training in advance, in times of crisis or other rapidly changing circumstances, this level of preparation may not be feasible. Fortunately, there are specific, Common Challenges of Remote Work To start, managers need to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding. Otherwise high-performing employees may experience declines in job performance and engagement when they begin working remotely, especially in the absence of preparation and training. Challenges inherent in rem...

Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organization’s culture, industry, and practices. Neither members nor non-members may reproduce such samples in any other way (e.g., to republish in a book or use for a commercial purpose) without SHRM’s permission. To request permission for specific items, click on the “reuse permissions” button on the page where you find the item. ​Employers need to pay extra attention to securing the technology their remote workforce is using. The growing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is providing plenty of new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit unsecured technology systems, overworked information technology (IT) staff and panicked employees who are new to working from home. Remote-access technologies are exposed to more external threats. Organizations "should assume that malicious parties will gain control of telework client devices and attempt to recover sensitive data from them or leverage the devices to gain access to the enterprise network," SHRM Resource Spotlight "The impulse to send employees home to work is understandable, but companies and agencies without business continuity plans with a strong IT asset management component are going to be sitting ducks for breaches, hacking and data that is out there i...

• Home • News • Communications • VoIP & Phone Services The Dos and Don'ts of Securing Your VoIP Communications With workplaces moving to a much more distributed model due to the pandemic, voice over IP communications need to be better secured. We discuss how to secure VoIP system with an expert from RingCentral. That can be an exceptionally bad mistake these days for several reasons. First, many businesses are moving to a much more distributed networking model due to the pandemic. Users are working from home and for many companies that move may become permanent. That means your clean and consolidated office network is now connected to a potential rat's nest of home networks with unknown routers running unknown (and often default) settings, as well as connecting to a hodgepodge of personal, unmanaged devices. That can affect not only VoIP performance (meaning the clarity of a conversation), but also security across both password protection and traffic integrity. This leads into the other problem with a distributed VoIP architecture. Most VoIP providers these days have some form of unified communications as a service (UCaaS) software client, or softphone. This isn't just a phone that runs on your PC or mobile device, though that's the most popular usage at many companies. For many providers, like Whether it's ensuring secure user authentication and network configuration or enabling end-to-end encryption in all VoIP communication and data storage, organizations need to be dil...

Technology has made telecommuting easier to manage, but remote work arrangements present unique safety challenges—and employers must ensure they are complying with workplace rules even for employees who don't work onsite. Keeping remote employees safe can be challenging, mainly because they are not in a controlled workplace environment, said Chris Holbert, CEO of SecuraTrac, a company in Hermosa Beach, Calif., that develops and sells mobile health and safety solutions. He noted that remote workers usually don't have a designated office with smoke detectors, ergonomic workspaces and security protocols. "Workplace safety for at-home workers is a somewhat amorphous topic, as it's sometimes unclear what regulatory framework applies," said Alec Beck, an attorney with FordHarrison in Minneapolis. For example, he said, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stated that it will not conduct at-home workplace inspections and that it will generally not hold employers liable for at-home safety issues. "On the other hand, OSHA continues to maintain that employers are responsible for safe working conditions regardless of location," Beck said. "The obvious tension between these two statements illustrates the difficulty of creating policies and procedures in this area." Employers can try to manage and mitigate the safety risks mobile workers face by creating effective safety reporting systems and establishing mandatory safety check-ins at predetermined intervals, Hol...

Securing a modern workplace requires careful collaboration between IT services, employees, and a host of other parties. Security threats are everywhere from online to your front door. Some of the most significant protections you can put in place start with the security of your physical location. Properly securing your office can help to mitigate and reduce threats and downtime. With the invention of technologies such as video surveillance and access control, business security systems has quickly become a part of the IT space. Utilizing these modern security systems and practices can go a long way in making your business physically more secure. Here’s an overview of physical office security system best practices, so you can ensure your workplace is secure. CDW Amplified™ Physical Security deploys, integrates and manages physical security systems for business that improve safety and security. Learn More Everything from employee access to the fire alarms in your building can be considered part of a physical office security system. Anyone inside of your workspace needs to be protected by some form of physical security. For smaller offices, this can mean simply singing in visitors at a front desk or sharing the Wi-Fi password with new employees. For larger organizations, physical security can become a bit more comprehensive and involve ID badges or other more advanced No matter the size of your business, it is crucial to understand where you are at risk and the steps you can ta...

Summary. With the Covid-19 epidemic, many employees — and their managers — are finding themselves working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare. First, it’s important to understand the common challenges, from isolation to distractions to lack of face-to-face supervision. Then managers can support remote workers with 1) regular, structured check-ins; 2) multiple communication options (and established norms for each; 3) opportunities for social interactions; and 4) ongoing encouragement and emotional support. In these difficult times, we’ve made In response to the uncertainties presented by Covid-19, many companies and universities have asked their employees to work remotely. While Although it is always preferable to establish clear remote-work policies and training in advance, in times of crisis or other rapidly changing circumstances, this level of preparation may not be feasible. Fortunately, there are specific, Common Challenges of Remote Work To start, managers need to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding. Otherwise high-performing employees may experience declines in job performance and engagement when they begin working remotely, especially in the absence of preparation and training. Challenges inherent in rem...

Securing a modern workplace requires careful collaboration between IT services, employees, and a host of other parties. Security threats are everywhere from online to your front door. Some of the most significant protections you can put in place start with the security of your physical location. Properly securing your office can help to mitigate and reduce threats and downtime. With the invention of technologies such as video surveillance and access control, business security systems has quickly become a part of the IT space. Utilizing these modern security systems and practices can go a long way in making your business physically more secure. Here’s an overview of physical office security system best practices, so you can ensure your workplace is secure. CDW Amplified™ Physical Security deploys, integrates and manages physical security systems for business that improve safety and security. Learn More Everything from employee access to the fire alarms in your building can be considered part of a physical office security system. Anyone inside of your workspace needs to be protected by some form of physical security. For smaller offices, this can mean simply singing in visitors at a front desk or sharing the Wi-Fi password with new employees. For larger organizations, physical security can become a bit more comprehensive and involve ID badges or other more advanced No matter the size of your business, it is crucial to understand where you are at risk and the steps you can ta...

• Home • News • Communications • VoIP & Phone Services The Dos and Don'ts of Securing Your VoIP Communications With workplaces moving to a much more distributed model due to the pandemic, voice over IP communications need to be better secured. We discuss how to secure VoIP system with an expert from RingCentral. That can be an exceptionally bad mistake these days for several reasons. First, many businesses are moving to a much more distributed networking model due to the pandemic. Users are working from home and for many companies that move may become permanent. That means your clean and consolidated office network is now connected to a potential rat's nest of home networks with unknown routers running unknown (and often default) settings, as well as connecting to a hodgepodge of personal, unmanaged devices. That can affect not only VoIP performance (meaning the clarity of a conversation), but also security across both password protection and traffic integrity. This leads into the other problem with a distributed VoIP architecture. Most VoIP providers these days have some form of unified communications as a service (UCaaS) software client, or softphone. This isn't just a phone that runs on your PC or mobile device, though that's the most popular usage at many companies. For many providers, like Whether it's ensuring secure user authentication and network configuration or enabling end-to-end encryption in all VoIP communication and data storage, organizations need to be dil...

on October 23, 2020, 2:36 PM PDT Amazon's Desktop as a Service product can virtualize the computing needs of your entire workforce, secure business data, and make life easier for remote employees and IT teams. Amazon WorkSpaces Illustration: Lisa Hornung/iStockPhoto The modern workforce is more distributed than ever before, and the SEE: Cloud data storage policy (TechRepublic Premium) Because growth has been slow, many businesses may still be unaware of the advantages offered by products like Amazon WorkSpaces. Read on to learn why this new way of deploying workstations may be worth the investment, and the way of the future. What is Amazon WorkSpaces? Amazon WorkSpaces is Amazon’s entry into the Amazon describes WorkSpaces as “an easy way to provide a secure, managed, cloud-based virtual desktop experience to your end-users,” and said that its cloud-native, fully managed design means IT teams “don’t have to worry about procuring, deploying, and managing a complex environment.” SEE: Top cloud providers in 2020: AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, hybrid, SaaS players (ZDNet) Amazon WorkSpaces virtual machines (VMs) can be deployed in both Linux and Windows formats and are designed to fill the role of basic end-user workstations. To fill various workstation roles, a number of different bundles are available that allocate more or less CPU power, GBs of RAM, GPUs, video memory, SSD root and user storage, and software. IT teams can use default Windows/Linux images or create...