Implementing Cybersecurity for Globally Distributed Teams

Though more and more businesses are building globally distributed teams, one of the primary concerns they still have regarding offshoring their processes is security.

To mitigate security risks and protect sensitive data, companies must know and implement fundamental cybersecurity measures when working with their teams — offshore or otherwise.

Here are some data security practices that you can implement to ensure that your trade secrets are well-protected.

1. Find a secure model for your business

When you’re looking to hire a global workforce, you can either hire freelancers, outsource your development processes, or build an offshore team.

Though going the freelancer or outsourcing route may reduce your operational costs, it will also expose your business to significant security risks because outsourcing agencies work with developers on a contract basis.

In such a scenario, ensuring that there is no security breach is next to impossible.

On the other hand, building a dedicated offshore team means hiring a permanent, full-time team that belongs to your organization. And because they only work for you, implementing and monitoring cybersecurity processes becomes that much easier.

1. Secure all applications and devices

When building a globally distributed team, you must ensure that your IT infrastructure is configured correctly to ensure the cybersecurity of operations. Some ways to do this include:

• Encrypting and installing firewalls
• Secure access to all company systems
• Restrict system access to specific networks or locations

1. Assess and engage safe cloud providers

Though cloud computing is one of the easiest means of storing and accessing files, implementing the right security measures is essential.

• Identify which cloud providers your globally distributed team uses.
• Review contracts and terms of service to ensure your business retains ownership of all the data uploaded to the cloud
• Ensure that frequent cloud security audits are performed in compliance with standards such as ISO 27001, PCI, or HIPAA.

And that concludes our thoughts on leveraging cybersecurity when working with globally distributed teams.

Original Post: https://thescalers.com/a-guide-to-cybersecurity-for-globally-distributed-teams/