Secure remote working: How to protect the corporate network

When an employee works from home, the security of your corporate network extends to their living room—and their home router. Secure remote working rests on three pillars: encrypted remote access (VPN or Zero Trust solutions), protected and managed devices, and clear rules regarding what can and cannot be done remotely. Without these, every external connection becomes a potential entry point.

Many SMEs in the Brescia area adopted hybrid work after 2020 and haven’t looked back. The problem is that they often did so in a rush, leaving security aspects unaddressed. Let’s look at how to bring some order to the situation.

Risks of remote work for the corporate network

Working from home introduces vulnerabilities that do not exist in the office:

• Unprotected home networks: never-updated routers, default passwords, family devices on the same network.
• Personal devices: the employee uses a home PC, without managed antivirus or corporate oversight.
• Public Wi-Fi: connections from cafés, hotels, or coworking spaces, where data can be intercepted.
• Blurred boundaries: company files saved on personal desktops, outside of any backup or oversight.

VPN: how to choose and configure one

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates an encrypted “tunnel” between the employee’s device and the company network, ensuring data travels securely even over unsecured networks. For an SME, what matters is:

• Robust encryption and up-to-date protocols: avoid outdated or free solutions of questionable origin.
• Two-factor authentication for VPNs too: access to the corporate network must not rely on a single password.
• Targeted access: each user accesses only the resources they need, not the entire network.

More mature organizations are shifting to Zero Trust models, where every access request is verified each time, regardless of its point of origin.

Endpoint security: proteggi i dispositivi

The endpoint is the device you work from—a PC, a laptop, or sometimes a smartphone. Protecting it means:

• Centrally managed antivirus/EDR, updated and monitored by the company, not by the individual.
• Disk encryption: if the laptop is stolen, the data remains unreadable.
• Automatic operating system and application updates.
• Mobile Device Management (MDM): to enforce policies and, in the event of theft, remotely lock or wipe the device.

Smart working security policy

Technology alone is not enough: written and shared rules are needed. A good policy establishes:

• Which devices are permitted (company-owned, personal, or both, subject to minimum requirements).
• Where to save files (only on corporate resources or managed cloud storage, never on the personal desktop).
• How to manage passwords and the 2FA requirement.
• What to do if the device is lost or a suspected attack occurs.

These rules intertwine with GDPR obligations, which we explore in depth in *GDPR for SMEs*.

A typical secure setup for an SME in the Brescia area

To put this into practice, here is what a well-configured remote access setup looks like for an SME with around ten employees working in a hybrid model:

• Company-issued devices for staff, featuring encrypted drives and centrally managed antivirus software.
• Corporate VPN with 2FA: every connection to the internal network passes through an encrypted tunnel and requires a second factor.
• Role-based access: the administration department accesses the accounting management system, while the production team accesses its own applications, without everyone seeing everything.
• Centralized backup: files worked on remotely are saved to corporate resources or managed cloud storage, never left solely on the device.
• A policy written and signed by employees, outlining clear rules regarding passwords, file saving, and the procedure to follow if a laptop is lost.

A setup like this does not require an enterprise-level budget; it is within reach of any SME and transforms remote work from a risk into a working method as reliable as working on-site. The cost of implementation is typically a fraction of the cost of a single security incident.

Frequently asked questions

Is a VPN enough to stay safe? No. A VPN protects the connection, but you also need to protect the device and establish usage rules. It is a pillar, not the entire house.

Can I let employees use their personal PCs? It is possible, but only with guaranteed minimum requirements (managed antivirus, encryption, updates). Otherwise, the risk outweighs the savings.

Does remote working increase exposure to GDPR risks? Yes, because data leaves the corporate perimeter. That is why encrypted devices, controlled access, and written policies are necessary; these are also the measures that demonstrate the due diligence required by regulations in the event of an inspection.

Conclusion

Remote work has become a structural part of business, and treating it with the same level of seriousness as the on-site network is not a luxury—it is what keeps your data secure even when it leaves the facility. VPNs, protected endpoints, and clear policies are the bare minimum.

Do you have employees working remotely in Brescia and the surrounding province? Contact us to check your remote access: we’ll tell you where you are exposed and how to secure your setup.

To learn more, read: How to protect corporate data from cyberattacks.