Managed SOC for Remote Working Security: Safeguarding Off-Site Teams
As the cyber threats targeting remote workers increase, such as AI-powered phishing emails and increasingly convincing fake log in pages, businesses must deploy the right solutions to protect their employees and their business. In this article, we’ll explore the key risks of remote working security and how a Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) provides you with the 24/7 protection needed to safeguard hybrid teams against evolving threats.
Key Takeaways
- Remote and hybrid working has expanded the attack surface, with unsecured networks, personal devices, and lack of oversight putting businesses at greater cyber risk.
- AI-powered phishing, credential theft, and shadow IT are the most common threats facing off-site employees, requiring advanced protection measures.
- A Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) provides 24/7 monitoring, threat detection, and incident response to keep remote teams and business-critical systems secure.
- Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), VPNs, and MFA are essential technical controls that must be implemented across remote environments.
- Security culture is critical – regular awareness training, clear protocols, and a no-blame incident reporting culture empower remote employees to act as your first line of defence.
The Rising Need for Remote Working Security
The shift to remote and hybrid working has transformed how your business operates, giving your employees more flexibility, reducing costs, and boosting job satisfaction. But, it also introduces serious cybersecurity risks that could put your business continuity, regulatory compliance, and data security at risk.
Remote employees work outside of the corporate perimeter, often connecting from unsecured home networks and public WiFi, or using personal devices that lack enterprise enforced security controls. These factors increase the likelihood of cyberattacks, data breaches, and remote work compliance issues all impacting remote working security.
Importance of Securing Remote Workers
Remote and hybrid working models have become the norm for businesses. However, having employees working outside of your traditional office environment and security perimeter brings challenges that you must adapt your security protocols to.
With remote workers operating across multiple different locations, devices and even networks, your attack surface becomes far greater for cybercriminals to exploit.
Without implementing the correct security controls for your business, you may face a heightened risk of data breaches, successful ransomware attacks and possibly non-compliance with data protection frameworks or regulations for your sector.
Cyber Security Risks for Remote Workforces
Cybercriminals are constantly scanning for vulnerabilities in remote work setups, seeking gaps to exploit. Whether through phishing attacks, credential theft, or malware infiltration, employees working remotely face increased risk. Without your company’s security controls in place, home WiFi networks, personal computers or other devices and applications accessed from home may not fall within the security protocols you’ve set for your office environment.
Unsecured Home Networks
Unlike office environments, where firewalls and endpoint protections are in place, home WiFi networks are often left vulnerable, making remote work cyber security a challenge. Many employees use outdated routers with default settings, leaving networks vulnerable to attacks, such as:
- Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks: This is where cyber criminals intercept communications between someone remote working and corporate servers
- Brute Force attacks: Cyber criminals exploit weak WiFi and access passwords to gain network access
- Home & Public WiFi: Without the proper security and encryption implemented, hackers can monitor data traffic and steal sensitive information
Solution: Enforce VPN security for remote work, update router firmware, and implement strong password policies for home and hybrid workers.
Shared and Unsecured Devices
Employees working remotely can now potentially use personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones (Bring Your Own Device – or Secure BYOD) to access systems and perform work tasks. This can also be unauthorised use, falling outside company policies and the visibility of the IT team. These personal devices lack the proper corporate security controls. Unlike company managed devices, personal devices:
- May have unpatched software with unpatched vulnerabilities
- Could be infected with malware from prior personal use
- Allow family members or unauthorised users to see and access work data
Solution: Deploy 24/7 SOC security monitoring and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) services to monitor all company infrastructure and company issued devices to detect issues before they become successful breaches.
Increased Risk of Phishing & Social Engineering
Phishing remains the top cybersecurity threat for businesses globally, with cybercriminals impersonating trusted entities to trick employees into clicking malicious links, revealing credentials on fake log in pages, or downloading malware, particularly when remote workers are at home and may not be as vigilant.
- 66% of UK organisations suffered a phishing attack last year, including impersonating executives to request fraudulent transactions or gain unauthorised access to company data
- 30% of these attacks resulted in malware infections and company data encryption
Solution: Implement email filtering solutions, train employees regularly to spot phishing attempts, and use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of account compromise.
Lack of IT Oversight & Monitoring
In traditional office settings, IT teams can actively monitor and secure network traffic. With remote work, businesses lose that complete visibility over employee activities, which means that IT teams struggle to enforce security policies across multiple locations. This brings unique challenges such as:
- Delayed threat detection, which increases the risk of data breaches
- Shadow IT risks, where employees might use applications or devices that aren’t officially approved and therefore could bypass security controls
- Incident response times can be affected if security teams are only aware of the threat once a successful breach has occurred
Solution: A Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) provides 24/7 threat monitoring across networks and systems, ensuring early detection of any issues and rapid incident response.
Data Protection & Compliance Challenges
Remote and hybrid working makes regulatory compliance (GDPR, ISO 27001) more challenging, with file sharing via personal devices and over email, and secure remote access to systems, bringing new challenges. Companies must ensure that:
- Secure file sharing is in place to prevent data leakage
- Access control policies to restrict sensitive information
- Encryption for data in transit to protect against cyber threats
Solution: Use encrypted cloud storage, enforce strict role-based access control (RBAC) policies, and deploy managed SOC and automated compliance solutions to monitor remote work compliance risks.
Weak Passwords & Lack of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Many employees reuse passwords across personal and work accounts, making it easier for credential-stuffing attacks to succeed. Cyber criminals can exploit weak authentication practices to gain access to corporate systems. Attack vectors for this include:
- Stolen Credentials: Password reuse across work and personal platforms makes corporate accounts vulnerable if a personal account is compromised
- Phishing Attacks: If employees unknowingly provide login details via fake login pages, then hackers can gain access to corporate networks for more than a month, until the password reset policy dictates a change
- Unattended Devices: A lost or unlocked laptop left on a local cafe table or shared workspace can be an easy entry point for attackers
Solution: Enforce strong password policies (long passphrases rather than short passwords), use password managers to generate and store unique, secure passwords, implement MFA for remote working security across all remote access points, and enable automatic screen locking for inactive devices.
How Managed SOC Services Enhance Remote Work Cybersecurity
A Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) Service provides businesses with a centralised security function, continuously monitoring a company’s entire infrastructure to defend against cyber threats targeting the business, including its remote employees.
24/7 Threat Monitoring & Incident Response
With 24/7 managed threat detection and response, a Managed SOC can immediately respond to cyberattacks before they can cause any damage, preventing successful data breaches.
Proactive Threat Intelligence & Attack Prevention
SOC analysts leverage advanced threat intelligence to identify attack patterns before they can escalate into an incident, strengthening remote work cybersecurity.
Comprehensive Security for Hybrid Teams
A Managed SOC unifies security monitoring across all remote devices, ensuring consistent protection, regardless of employee location.
Endpoint Security for Remote Workers
By securing laptops, desktops, and mobile devices, SOC Solutions that offer Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities can enforce real-time security updates, reducing vulnerabilities.
Collaboration with Remote Teams for Cyber Security
Cybersecurity must be seen as a collaborative effort, and everyone from an individual employee to the C-Suite is responsible for keeping your organisation safe.
IT teams must work closely with teams and individuals based remotely to ensure that a secure working environment is maintained. Without setting clear security protocols, and open communication should an incident occur, your business would be at risk of exploitation and successful breaches.
Establishing Clear Security Protocols
Set clear and easy to follow guidelines for your remote workforce to follow. This can be a frontline defence in preventing cyber risks becoming serious security incidents.
Without clear security protocols, employees may unknowingly bypass controls or find workarounds to security protocols without understanding the risks involved.
Security protocols for remote work should include:
- Implementation of BYOD: Set rules around remote workers using personal devices and enforce endpoint security requirements, regular software updates and ensure your VPN has the correct encryption
- Define Security Policies: Ensure that your remote employees are governed by password policies, secure file-sharing methods and a standard for device security
- Provide Collaboration Tools: Without company approved messaging and video call applications, remote employees could use unauthorised apps, resulting in shadow IT and data leaks
- Restrict Access Controls (RAS): By implementing a Zero Trust model, you can limit access to corporate systems effectively, whether employees are accessing remotely or on a hybrid basis
Encouraging Reporting of Security Incidents
You need your remote employees to feel comfortable to report potential security incidents immediately. However, many employees hesitate to raise concerns due to fear of blame or uncertainty about what may have occurred. Creating a no-blame culture, where employees feel completely comfortable reporting suspicious activity, without any fear of blame, is essential to protect your business and operations.
You can set up clear and simple reporting channels, such as a dedicated cybersecurity email address, internal helpdesk, or a chat group with the correct people included.
Regular security awareness training, phishing simulations, and real-world case studies is one of the best ways to help remote employees recognise a suspicious email or other threats – before they escalate into an incident. Encouraging early reporting empowers employees to be the first line of defence they should be against cyber threats, and reduces your risk of successful major security breach.
Why Choose DigitalXRAID for Remote Work Cybersecurity
At DigitalXRAID, we specialise in Managed SOC Services designed to secure hybrid teams. Our 24/7 monitoring, advanced threat intelligence, and expert SOC analysts protect your business and all staff from evolving cyber threats.
Why DigitalXRAID?
- CREST Certified SOC Service: DigitalXRAID are in the top 1% of providers globally to have achieved this prestigious certification, demonstrating the highest quality of service and innovation for our customers
- Proactive Threat Hunting: DigitalXRAID operates ‘The Hive’ threat intelligence, gathering data from the largest threat exchange database in the world. We work on a ‘one affected, all protected’ basis so all customers are protected against emerging threats
- Tailored Security Solutions: We are technology agnostic, so work on the best solutions for the customer, not according to any particular partnership. No two companies are the same, and at DigitalXRAID we tailor our services accordingly
- 24/7/365 Security Monitoring: We don’t sleep, so you can. With DigitalXRAID’s Managed SOC Service your business and all of your employees are protected, mitigating against remote work security threats
Learn more about DigitalXRAID’s Managed SOC Service.
Strengthen Your Remote Workforce Security Today
The way we work has changed, with remote and hybrid working are now a permanent fixture in the corporate landscape. While this flexibility brings increased productivity and employee satisfaction, it also introduces new cybersecurity challenges that businesses cannot afford to ignore.
Cybercriminals are evolving their tactics, targeting remote workers, unsecured networks, and personal devices to gain access to networks and sensitive corporate data.
This is where Managed SOC Services come in. By implementing 24/7 security monitoring, rapid threat response, and advanced threat intelligence, a Managed SOC safeguards your entire workforce with remote work security best practices, no matter where they’re working.
Cyber threats don’t wait, and neither should you. Protect your business from evolving cyber risks with a Managed SOC built for remote work cybersecurity. Get in touch to learn how DigitalXRAID can safeguard your work from security and ensure your business stays secure, no matter where your employees work.
