Security best practices for remote teams

Remote work has made security more important than ever. When your team is distributed, you need to be extra vigilant about protecting sensitive information. The attack surface grows, and the responsibility for security falls on each individual team member.

Build Your Security Foundation

Start with the basics that prevent the majority of breaches:

1. Use strong, unique passwords: Never reuse passwords across accounts. Use a password manager like 1Password, Dashlane, or Bitwarden to generate and store 16+ character passwords securely.
2. Enable two-factor authentication: This single step prevents the majority of account takeovers. Enable 2FA everywhere it's available—email, Slack, banking, everything.
3. Keep software updated: Those update notifications are annoying, but they often include critical security patches. Don't delay them.

Protect Your Network and Devices

Your home network and devices are entry points for attackers:

1. Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi: Coffee shops, airports, and public networks are vulnerable. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to encrypt your traffic whenever you're not on a trusted network.
2. Lock down your devices: Use disk encryption (FileVault on Mac, BitLocker on Windows). Enable a strong lock screen password. Don't leave devices unattended.
3. Use a firewall: Enable the built-in firewall on your computer and router.

Stay Alert to Social Engineering

Phishing attacks are increasingly sophisticated. A recent study showed that 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent daily. Be suspicious of unexpected emails and messages—especially those requesting passwords, financial information, or unusual access.

Red flags: Urgent language, requests for sensitive data, suspicious links, grammar errors, mismatched email addresses. When in doubt, contact the sender through a different channel before clicking anything.

Choose Tools That Respect Your Data

Not all collaboration tools handle security equally. When evaluating tools:

• Look for end-to-end encryption for sensitive communications
• Verify encryption at rest and in transit
• Read their data handling policies—Do they sell your data? Use it to train AI models?
• Check for strong access controls and audit logs
• Confirm they're SOC 2 Type II compliant if you handle sensitive data

At Convoe, security is foundational. We encrypt all data at rest and in transit, never use your data to train external models, and give you complete control over your workspace. Your data is yours.