Companies around the world are adapting to improve the quality of work of their employees. Some invest in their offices, purchasing better computers, tables and chairs to make the environment more productive and welcoming. Others hire services that help with the safety and productivity of their internal team. And there are those who are venturing into remote work.
Remote work or home office is a reality that companies are facing for several reasons. Whether to reduce employee travel costs or avoid spending on equipment in internal physical space. To be able to hire a much-desired professional, they often live in another state or country. And there are also reasons of force majeure, such as, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic, where employees are forced to work from home to avoid contagion.
Whatever the reason for working remotely, so that companies do not stop, it is important that they are all prepared with tools that can help with communication, task management, security and information mobility. In the article Coronavirus: tool tips so your company doesn't stop , we list 15 tools to help with remote work.
Problems with working remotely
Talking to some managers and IT analysts, we realized that the main concerns in a remote work strategy are information security and access to the company's internal resources .
If the employee is accessing the internet from home or some public place (airport, restaurant, events), we know that there is not the same security against cyber attacks as we have on the company network. Due to this lack of security, all data transmitted by the professional may be spied on or even kidnapped in a feared ransomware .
With the current coronavirus pandemic, phishing have increased. No global event escapes being used as the subject of malicious phishing campaigns. In the case of coronavirus, fear and the continued need for information about COVID-19 lead users to click on malicious links or open infected files.
In the United Kingdom alone, it is estimated that scams taking advantage of the coronavirus have already cost £800,000 in February alone.
Another worrying problem is access to the company's internal resources. In the article about tool tips for remote work there is a tip about using Google Drive or Drop box to share our documents in the cloud and for all employees to have access. However, many organizations have ERP systems, file servers and other systems that only work on the company's internal infrastructure. They need to find a way to provide remote access to these resources, in a safe and controlled way, so that employees working from home can work.
An alternative that many companies are using for remote access is RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), which directly links remote users to networks and servers. However, despite this solution being effective in this objective, it is a constant target of invasion attempts to deploy ransomware with data blocking and hijacking. An alert has already been issued by the FBI regarding the large wave of attacks on the remote desktop protocol (RDP). The alert even mentions the existence on the black market of selling lists of servers vulnerable to invasion , which have unrestricted access to the standard port of the remote desktop (3389).
To solve these problems related to internet access security and access to resources on the company's internal network by remote users, many IT managers and analysts are adopting Corporate VPNs .
Advantages of Corporate VPN
I'm not going to explain what a VPN is and how it works, as we already wrote about it in another article . But it's likely that you've already heard of or even used a virtual private network (VPN) to access content only available in one location in the world, such as a movie or game, or to have more privacy when browsing the web.
And in your company, has the use of this technology been considered as a tool to improve employee safety and mobility?
Let's now look at some advantages of the Corporate VPN from the point of view of the employee who is working remotely and also from the perspective of the IT manager or analyst.
For employees working remotely
- Reduction of travel costs
- Access to files and documents located on the company's local infrastructure
- Access your company computer via remote desktop
- Access to the ERP system installed in the company's local infrastructure
For IT managers and analysts
- Determines which employees are allowed remote access via VPN
- No need to spend on high-cost solutions to make resources available in the cloud
- Increased security of company information
- Increased productivity of employees working from home
- Reduction of expenses with damages and losses from a possible leak of confidential data
4 Corporate VPN options
1. NordVPN
NordVPN, which is based in Panama, is one of the most popular names on the market.
Its high number of servers spread across the world and vast range of features establishes itself as one of the main options for large companies.
Prices start at US$11.95/month, for one user and up to 6 devices simultaneously .
2. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN also stands out as a good alternative because of its many included features. It is considered the fastest VPN on the market.
The cost to subscribe to ExpressVPN is US$12.95/month, for one user and up to 5 devices simultaneously .
3. Perimeter 81
Developed by SaferVPN, Perimeter 81 is easy to configure and impresses with the ease of use of its interface.
Perimeter's starting plan is $50/month for up to 5 users .
4. Lumiun Business VPN
Another alternative is the Business VPN which is integrated with the Lumiun service.
Among the previous alternatives, it is the only Brazilian solution, with 100% support in Portuguese and which receives payments in local currency (R$).
Business VPN is a great solution specifically for small and medium businesses so they can provide their employees with secure remote access and monitor security threats.
A great advantage of Lumiun's Corporate VPN over other Corporate VPN solutions is that it applies to employees who are working remotely, in a home office, the same rules for protecting and monitoring internet access that exist on the company's internal network. internet usage policy remains in force , with the aim of improving information security and employee productivity.
The Business VPN is already included when purchasing Enterprise plan , which costs from R$140/month, with no user limit and up to 10 simultaneous devices . When contracting the Enterprise plan, in addition to the Business VPN, the customer also receives the Lumiun Box with complete control of internet access in the company, traffic control, firewall and many other features.
ATTENTION: Due to the increase in suspected cases of COVID-19, many companies are changing their routine to reduce the chances of contagion. Some companies canceled external face-to-face service, others adopted home office, others rotate employees between shifts and many still maintain normal standards.
To help with this adaptation scenario, Lumiun is making the Business VPN available on all plans, for current and new customers, at no additional cost, for 90 days.
Therefore, you can now have a corporate VPN for your company and all the other features that Lumiun offers for R$97/month for up to 10 simultaneous devices .
Find out more on the special COVID-19 .
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