August 11, 2026
How to Improve Home Office Cyber Security: 12 Essential Tips
There’s no doubt about it, the home office has become a target for cyber crime.
As remote and hybrid working have become a permanent part of business operations, organisations and employees face new cyber security challenges. Home offices often lack the same protections as traditional workplaces, making devices, home networks, and sensitive information attractive targets for cyber criminals. By combining effective organisational security measures with good cyber security practices at home, businesses and remote workers can help reduce the risk of cyber attacks and data breaches.
Why is The Home Office Such a Target Today?
The technology is in place: 95% of the population owns a mobile phone, and nearly three-quarters have a desktop or laptop computer, according to Pewinternet.org. As remote and hybrid working become more common, home offices can present additional cyber security risks for both organisations and employees. While organisations may provide security tools, policies, and training, remote workers often access company systems and sensitive information through home networks and devices that may not offer the same level of protection as a traditional workplace. This can create opportunities for cyber criminals to target people, devices, and business data outside the office environment.
What Causes a Home Office Data Breach?
A home office data breach occurs when personal or work-related information is accessed, shared, stolen, or exposed without authorisation. Remote workers often handle confidential data outside of a traditional office environment, which can increase the risk of cyber incidents if the proper safeguards are not in place.
These incidents can result from a combination of technical vulnerabilities, human error, and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks targeting remote workers.
As cyber threats continue to evolve, it is important for remote workers to understand the risks facing the home office environment. The following working from home security tips and best practices can help support a more secure approach to remote working.
12 Home Office Cyber Security Tips for Remote Workers
Remote workers play an important role in maintaining cyber security when working from home. The following recommendations outline practical steps employees can take to help protect devices, information, and company data outside the office.
1. Use Approved Work Devices and Security Tools
When working from home, use company-approved devices, software, and security tools. Avoid disabling security controls that have been configured by your organisation
2. Keep Work Devices Up to Date
Apply approved software and operating system updates when prompted and follow your organisation's guidance for keeping work devices secure.
3. Follow a Remote Work Policy
Find out if your company has a Remote Work Policy – and follow it.
4. Avoid Risky Apps
Reduce the attack potential of your network and devices and remove any applications and services if they aren’t needed. Do not download apps indiscriminately.
5. Secure Your Home Network
Your home Wi-Fi network is often the first line of defence when working remotely. Set strong passwords, change default router credentials, restrict network access where possible, and create a separate guest network for visitors.
6. Use Strong, Unique Passwords
Every work account should have a strong, unique password. Reusing passwords across multiple accounts increases the risk of unauthorised access if one account is compromised.
7. Never Use Random Or Found USB Drives
Plugging in an unknown USB drive could introduce malware to your device.
8. Learn To Avoid Phishing Scams
Pause before you click on links in email, messages, or social media sites.
Preview unrecognised or suspicious links by hovering over them (do not go any further if there is a misspelling or other irregularity, or if the link doesn’t match the text). Treat messages with generic greetings and attachments with suspicion. Verify messages by phone or in-person if necessary.
9. Think Before Connecting To Public Wi-Fi
When out of ‘the office’, use a company-approved virtual private network (VPN) where required, and avoid doing sensitive work or making any financial transactions. Public Wi-Fi networks can increase the risk of malware infections and unauthorised access.
10. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA helps protect your personal and work accounts even if a password is stolen through phishing or malware attacks.
11. Follow Your Organisation's Backup and Storage Policies
Save work files only in approved company systems and cloud platforms. Follow your organisation's backup and data retention policies to help ensure important information can be recovered in the event of accidental deletion, device failure, or a cyber incident.
12. Improve Physical Security
Keep doors locked, store laptops in locked drawers when not in use, and have discarded confidential data (on paper, hard drives and electronic media) securely destroyed by a professional service provider.
Whether you're working remotely full-time or occasionally, following home office cyber security best practices can help protect your devices, personal information, and work data from cyber threats. Organisations also play a critical role in protecting sensitive information by implementing secure data management, storage, and disposal practices. Protecting both physical and digital records throughout their lifecycle can help reduce the risk of data breaches and support a stronger overall security strategy.
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Contact us to learn more about how Shred-it can protect your documents, hard drives, and digital information.
