Why it’s important to thoroughly manage your office WiFi permissions
Within any type of higher level institution or organization, it is quite probable to see a computer network set up through WiFi. While this is great for employees as they have permanent connection to the internet wherever they go within the building, it may pose some security concerns that many just aren’t aware of.
In this article, we will be taking a look at what kind of issues can arise by not managing a WiFi connection’s permissions properly and why it’s necessary to get the best equipment (you’re better off investing in guarantor loans than having poor WiFi adapters or routers). There are few different areas affected by this and quite a few issues or concerns that should be taken into consideration.
Personal privacy
Starting off easily, one of the things you are risking by running an unsecured or poorly managed WiFi network is your own personal privacy. If you are the type of person that has personal documents or even photos in your work computer, you might have a problem here. Having a bad network can lead to other people with malicious intentions getting a hold of those photos or documents, leading to complications or awkward situations for you.
This is an extension of the fact that you shouldn’t have personal files or media on your work computer in the first place. It’s been agreed upon since the dawn of modern office solutions that the office computer and the personal computer should remain separate. For those with special cases in which they have to bring their own laptop for work, the situation is a little bit different. Even then, employees have the option of formatting the computer in such a way that work and personal never meet. Computing solutions go as far as allowing users to install two operating systems on the same computer.
This could allow an entirely different ecosystem for the operating system used for work and the same for the one used for personal matters. The ability to that on top of being able to create multiple partitions and to allocate or reserve free space (MB/GB) freely on a computer make it a lot /easier to separate two very different digital environments, Home and Business.
Company information
As it is expected, companies that have a computer network regardless of whether it’s connected to the internet or not will use this network to use and store sensitive information regarding its transactions, partnerships, projects and pretty much anything it’s involved in. if someone breaks through a poorly protected WiFi network security system and gains access to this type of information, it can be disastrous for the company.
Usually, an enterprise that deals with high professionalism will have more than one security measure in place to guard the company secrets, but more time than not they are connected to one another or at the very least present traits that allow hackers to bypass one by breaching the other. Even if there is no connection whatsoever between the various security checks put in place, having external entities get a freebie and jump right to the next defense mechanism means that a lot of stalling time is lost from the start.
External affairs and public image
So we’ve talked a bit about what can happen to you and your company if someone breaks through the poorly set up security measures of your office WiFi network. Now, let’s talk about what can happen for the people or companies you work with. Those that gain access to the company internet files and permissions can even use the company name and image to post online or conduct malicious actions on the internet that might even involve other companies. This will definitely lower their perception of the affected company, at the very least until it is proven or confirmed that the security measures had been compromised. Additionally, posting online and creating trouble on the internet will gain the attention of the public which will scrutinize the company and possibly even abandon it in the case of customers or subscribers to a service.
These are some of the things that can happen because no one took the time to properly bolster the internet based defenses of the company WiFi network. If the company lacks an IT department, a professional can be hired to do the work. The money would be well invested in contrast to the types of issues that are prevented.
Accommodating an IT department
When it comes to having an in-house IT department, many company might be lacking because they didn’t have any need for such a department in the past. Or at least, they didn’t think they did, but situations further down the road proved them otherwise. Companies finding themselves in a situation where an IT department is required but is lacking have a few options at their disposal. Both the efficiency and viability of these options heavily depend on the company size, its assets and disposable resources. Here are some of the solutions to the IT issue that can be implemented:
- Hire a complete IT detail. There are many companies that specialize in providing IT services while maintaining their independence. This solution can be of great help, but for smaller companies it might only be a temporary one because keeping them on payroll might not be possible indefinitely. If it is, the company can decide to keep doing that and basically get rid of any problem they might have had with the lack of an IT presence in the workplace.
- Train an IT team. This is definitely a long term solution as it can take a long term to train a team. However, this solution comes with the benefit of having a “home grown” team that specializes in the particular issues and technicalities of that particular workplace. The previous option can be kept in place while the new, in-house team of IT specialists is being developed. This might be a very expensive move however, because it requires financial advancements on multiple fronts, which again, might not be possible for institutions or companies that can’t afford to split the budget in so many directions effectively.
- Hire IT specialists. The third option is probably the easiest and cheapest out of all, but it is definitely the one that will be the most “random” or less optimized variant. Companies can hire IT specialists and professionals after putting out ads that they are looking to hire. People come in and interview and a tram is formed by hiring people that have experience in the field. A team leader can be hired, which would have superior knowledge and can guide the other people who will fill the IT department. Small companies might not even need more than one or two people, sometimes even one IT guy being enough. In that situation, everything is a lot simpler.
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