Security Tips for Working Remotely

No matter where you are working, ITS and Information Security are by your side with the tools and support you need to ensure you can get your work done efficiently, effectively, and with confidence.  Below you will find guidance and best practices for secure remote work.  Check back here, and on our OneStThomas page for regular updates and useful information.

Increasing Your Awareness

It is an unfortunate reality that scammers and cyber attackers increase their activities during difficult times.  It is important to maintain your awareness whether you are working from your office, your home, or any location.  If you receive an email or text message that seems suspicious, don't take the bait!  Report it to phishing@stthomas.edu.  Here are some things to look for:

• Make sure the full email address matches the display name
• Inspect the full link before clinking on anything embedded in an email
• Don't open any attachment unless you are expecting it or are certain of the sender
• Be suspicious of any email that tries to elicit a sense of urgency or panic to get you to respond

Keeping Your Devices Secure

Working from anywhere means being away from your usual work environment. You may be working across campus, from your home, from a family member or friend's home, or from someplace less familiar. 

Regardless of your work location, you should always maintain good situational awareness.  This means:

• Being aware of your surroundings, including who may have a clear view of your screen
• Knowing where your devices are (including any mobile devices that connect to university resources) and ensuring they are physically secured at all times
• Not leaving devices unattended in a vehicle
• Ensuring your devices are up to date with all patches and anti-virus data
  • For university-owned devices, you may need to connect to VPN to ensure this if you are working remotely for an extended period.  If you require assistance with this, please contact the Tech Desk.
  • For personal devices, follow the guidelines for your operating system - like Windows, Mac, iOS, Andriod, etc.
  • For all devices, make sure your operating system is supported.  This means it is new enough that the maker of the system still offers security patches.  If it is no longer supported, your devices are not secure and may not work properly. 
• Do not allow friends or family members (including children) to use your university-owned laptop or workstation.
• Do not store any university data, particularly protected data, on your personal laptop or home workstation.

Know Your Data

Take time to get familiar with the data you use in your job, as well as any internal policies or state/federal privacy laws and compliance concerns that may apply to your data.  You can also check out this overview of the St. Thomas data classification policy.