Working away from your usual work location takes advantage of the latest technologies, allowing you to take the office with you, working on various devices and connecting in different ways to the information you need. But there are many additional risks to information security when working in this way. Here are a few to be aware of:
Shoulder surfing
Just being around other people is enough to put information at risk. Someone can overlook as you enter your password or other key information – this is called shoulder surfing.
While shoulder surfing can happen anywhere (including in the office) you are at increased risk when working remotely, especially in public places.
Unauthorised access to devices
Anyone who can get access to your computer or other devices can potentially get access to confidential information.
Again, unauthorised access can happen anywhere (including in the office) but you are at increased risk when working remotely and in public spaces in particular.
Loss or theft of devices
It only takes a moment for a device to be stolen, particularly smaller devices. But these can hold lots of confidential information which can be very useful to thieves and fraudsters.
Public WiFi
Public (WiFi or mobile data) connections are not as secure as the University’s network, which has several layers of security in place. Some public connections have little or no security measures in place. Remember, you may only connect to check one piece of information, but in the background, your device could be syncing emails and files from University servers etc.