How to Keep Your Company’s Virtual Water Cooler Secure

pcmag.com:

Water-cooler conversations have long been a fixture of office life and a place for workers to bond and feel more connected as a team. But with the rise of remote and hybrid work, many of the casual, face-to-face chats that used to take place around the water cooler have gone digital and are no longer off the record.

This can be a real headache for business leaders when it comes to ensuring their company’s data security. Whether your hybrid employees are messaging about what they did over the weekend or tossing business strategies around via text or email, chances are pretty good that some people are using personal devices and accessing or sharing documents from unsecure public networks. Thankfully, there are proven ways to help keep sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Here are five strategies you can use to help keep your company’s data safe when the virtual water cooler is located here, there, or anywhere.

First, you want to ensure your employees understand that data security is a top priority. Believe it or not, some people still may not be aware that data security is everyone’s job, regardless of their position in the company. Regular security-awareness training and ongoing communication around the importance of protecting company—and customer—information can help your team keep security top of mind.

One of the easiest ways to help ensure your virtual water cooler is secure is to require your team to utilize two-factor authentication. Unfortunately, some people still use weak passwords or one password for all their online accounts, making it easy for hackers to breach. Two-factor authentication requires employees to use both their password and then another code, usually sent by text, email, or