When businesses sent their staff home in March 2020, the intention was for it to be a temporary measure. For most, something between half and all of the workforce has remained at least partly remote ever since.
The security and infrastructure planning that would have accompanied a deliberate, managed move to hybrid working did not happen in March 2020. There was no time. Kitchen tables became offices overnight, and whatever broadband and hardware the employee happened to have at home became the foundation of the corporate network's remote edge.
Most businesses have not seriously revisited that situation since.
What the typical home office network looks like from a security perspective
The home broadband router supplied by a consumer ISP is a consumer device. It has consumer-grade security defaults, a standard admin password that a significant proportion of users have never changed, and firmware that may not have received a security update in years.
It is shared with every other device in the household: smartphones, smart TVs, games consoles, children's tablets, and smart speakers. Each of those devices represents a potential entry point into the same network segment that the work laptop is sitting on.
The Wi-Fi signal almost certainly does not separate work devices onto a dedicated network with different security controls from the household devices. The work laptop is, in network terms, neighbours with the smart fridge.
The device problem
A managed business network has visibility over every device connected to it. It knows what is on the network, what software those devices are running, whether they are patched, and whether anything unexpected is happening.
A home network has none of that. A device connecting to a corporate VPN or cloud application from a home network brings with it whatever else is on that device and, to a degree, whatever else is on that home network.
UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey data consistently shows that human behaviour and endpoint compromise are the primary vectors for successful attacks on businesses. The home office environment increases both risks simultaneously.
The physical layer matters too
Network security conversations focus almost entirely on software. The physical layer is almost always ignored.
A cheap or poorly specified network cable introduces instability. An unstable connection causes devices to reconnect, which interrupts VPN sessions, drops cloud application connections, and creates the kind of intermittent, hard-to-diagnose problems that cost IT support hours to investigate.
A home office that is properly cabled with quality Cat6 patch leads, connected via a reliable ADSL or Ethernet cable to a correctly specified router, and powered via a PDU that protects hardware from surges, is a fundamentally more reliable working environment than one assembled from whatever was available.
The cost difference is trivial. The reliability difference is not.
What a properly secured remote working environment requires
From an IT perspective: a managed device with endpoint protection, current patching, and device management policy applied. MFA on every cloud application and corporate system. A VPN or zero-trust network access solution that controls what the device can reach. Monitoring that extends to remote devices, not just office infrastructure.
From a physical infrastructure perspective: a quality network connection from a reliable cable to a router that is correctly configured and password-protected. A PDU to protect hardware. A dedicated home office network segment that separates work devices from household devices where possible.
IT Works provides remote working solutions covering device management, endpoint security, VPN and zero-trust access, and monitoring infrastructure that makes hybrid working safe as well as flexible.
RGB Networks supplies the physical layer: Cat6 patch leads, ADSL cables, PDUs, and connectivity hardware with same-day dispatch for businesses and home office workers who need reliable infrastructure.
IT Works remote working solutions: https://it-works.co.uk/remote-working-solutions/ | RGB Networks hardware: https://rgbnetworks.co.uk/