You have clients everywhere. With the growing mobile application scene and denser connectivity map, your employees will work from anywhere they have access. Trains, planes, cars, and homes; business is no longer exclusive to the office. For a company that is making that shift from a growing small business to a true midmarket company, it may be the first time you have to combat the threat of viruses, data leaks, and fraud. Here are some basic steps to ensure that when your employees take your client data home, they are not bringing back more than you bargained for.

1. Ensure that employees don’t use their own devices, especially laptops and computers, without additional data protection software.
2. System backups either need to be automated or a standard frequency needs to be established. System backups form the backbone of disaster recovery plans. Your plan should work regardless of which location your systems are accessed from.
3. Thin client devices are great because they keep data at a server level. Virtual desktop infrastructure is also a great investment for data security.
4. Track data activity. All of it. This both mitigates and resolves data security issues by holding individuals accountable for the info they access. However, the level of detail might depend on your industry. Customer service companies might want to see full-screen monitoring while a manufacturing company really only needs to see which parts of a client file were accessed.
5. Require at least a two-factor authentication process to unlock an at-home device.
6. Use technology that masks or distorts sensitive customer data. The rights given to users on an individual level are also important, so make sure these are consistent between the office and remote login locations.