Vacations are here. Time to rest and take stock of everything accomplished throughout the year. Maybe it's the heat or the proximity of vacations that makes us relax and see everything in a calm, leisurely way. But these vacation periods shouldn't make us lower our guard on certain aspects. Especially regarding security.
During this time we travel more, sometimes temporarily change our place of residence, and in some cases might use non-usual work devices or ones shared with other family members. Therefore, we must be aware of what we're using and always stay alert regarding security measures. From these lines, we're going to provide some guidelines to follow to try to maintain the security of our data and credentials:
- MFA: Before going on a trip or traveling, a good measure is to configure multi-factor authentication ourselves or ask our IT department to activate and configure it for our work tools. This can prevent credential theft and trigger alerts in case of intrusion attempts.
- Antimalware: Make sure to use devices where we've verified they have an up-to-date antivirus or antimalware system. This can prevent us from running malicious tools that try to infect our devices.
- Report Suspicion: If we have the slightest suspicion that we've run a strange application or accessed a dubious environment, we must notify our IT technicians as soon as possible. Early action can prevent greater harm regarding infection or data theft.
- Passwords: In addition to using MFA, we must always have strong, robust passwords and have the means to change them ourselves if needed.
- Browser Private Mode: If we're going to use web applications, start the browser in private mode and avoid saving passwords when prompted.
If we follow these simple guidelines and use logic and common sense when using Microsoft cloud tools, we have nothing to fear and can enjoy calm, trouble-free vacations. We should also remember that the companies we work with will never ask for personal data or passwords via email, so we shouldn't respond to such requests.
Of course, in these cases, we insist on early detection of an attack and shouldn't hesitate to notify our IT department of any suspicion of data theft, intrusion, or device infection. Likewise, we must report if devices are lost or stolen.
In any case, Microsoft's cloud applications and tools have powerful security features and tools to protect our data, which our IT departments manage and oversee. But it's not too much to ask that we do our part and stay alert to any unusual events we observe in our work tools.
At ABD Consulting and IT Solutions, we can help you maintain the security of Microsoft cloud systems. If you want more information on this matter or any other, don't hesitate to contact us through our usual channels—we'll be happy to assist you.