Many of today's small businesses are further dispersed than ever before as more and more employees are given the opportunity to work remotely. This is a fantastic strategy for some as it allows greater diversity and more locales for businesses to function, while simultaneously keeping operating costs low. However, there is a risk with 'work from anywhere' policies. Data transfers from insecure devices over unencrypted connections can expose your company's confidential information to crafty hackers.

If your organization wants great protection against cyberattacks, you should really think about adopting a virtual private network (VPN). Below, CyberPolicy describes the benefits of using a VPN and some things to consider if you do.

A Very Important Network
According to a recent survey, almost half (45 percent) of employees telecommute to work as part of evolving managerial support of 'work from home' arrangements, with little to no disruption in productivity. However, many of these employees are working from public Wi-Fi connections at their local coffee shop, which has its own set of risks.

For example, a cybercriminal might visit a popular coffee shop and deploy a bogus Wi-Fi network with an enticing name like \"Coffee Guest Free Wi-Fi.\" The moment the victim clicks to connect, the hacker in the middle is able to watch your movements, analyze traffic to and from your computer and steal your business secrets. This is what is known as a honeypot.

So how can you keep your data safe? In a traditional office, businesses use internal private networks guarded by a firewall to block unauthorized external access. A VPN works in much the same way by creating a secure encrypted connection via a proxy server. This way, data transfers between remote employees and the company will be given the same protection against cyberattacks as an internal communication.

Of course, that's not all a VPN can do. Network scalability used to be pricey conundrum. As an organization grows its branch offices so does the need to host an exponentially increasing number of lines (Per LifeWire four branch offices require six lines, six branch offices require 15 lines, and so on). Web-based VPNs avoid this problem entirely by connecting to readily-available public lines. Not only is this a cheaper option, it also offers superior reach and quality!

But that's not to say that VPN is without its limitations. For example, a VPN deployment requires a detailed understanding of its installation, configurations and functions to ensure real protection against cyberattacks and digital incursion. Not to mention that the reliability and performance of your VPN is typically under the control of the provider rather than your own organization. CyberPolicy urges that you work with your IT department to adopt a VPN fit to your business needs.

In the end, a VPN is a wonderful, albeit imperfect, solution to safeguarding your network communications to and from remote employees and branch offices. If you want to sure up your organizations protection again cyberattacks, CyberPolicy recommends investing a cyber insurance policy that protects your organization from the financially deleterious effects of data breach. What are you waiting for? Start today!