As the holidays approach, everyone gets caught up in the season of giving. As IT professionals, this time of year allows us to share a gift with our users, which actually can help them give an even greater gift to us in return—the gift of users educated in ways that make our jobs easier. Give your users the gift of patience—and these tips—to keep yourself from becoming an IT humbug.
SECURITY
TIP #1: Phishers often trick employees into installing malware, or gain intelligence for attacks by claiming to be from IT. Appoint someone on your team to contact IT if your department receives suspicious calls.
TIP #2: Avoid leaking intellectual property. Sharing a picture with a whiteboard or computer screen in the background online could reveal more than a competitor should see.
TIP #3: Report security warnings from your anti-virus software to IT immediately, don’t assume they know about all threats that occur.
TIP #4: Alert IT before you travel if you’re going to be using public wireless Internet, and make sure you know how to connect to the company’s Virtual Private Network (VPN).
TIP #5: Be wary of links in emails from senders you don’t recognize. Phishers prey on employees who open links and attachments without checking them out, opening the door to malware.
BEHAVIOR
TIP #6: Don’t steal. Taking intellectual property and divulging professional secrets are likely against corporate policies. Your company may track the movement of sensitive documents and you could get into hot water.
TIP #7: Read your company’s Acceptable Electronic Use (AEU) policy, and follow the policies for safe use of your system and devices.
TIP #8: When backing up to cloud services, consult the IT department for a list of acceptable cloud solutions first. Organizations can make this part of their AEU policy and make it a fire-able offense.
SUPPORT
TIP #9: Call IT before you get in over your head. Often what starts as a simple update can be made more complex by attempting to “fix” the problem.
TIP #10: When you Bring Your Own Device, ask your IT department if your device is approved to receive corporate data before you upload anything to it. Use officially sanctioned applications to access sensitive documents.
TIP #11: Learn the process for allowing IT to connect virtually to your system. This can save time when you contact support and they need access to resolve an issue.
TIP #12: Learn basic computer hardware terms. This can save valuable time when you contact support and don’t have to describe the “mouse connector-thingy.”
Employees are on the front lines of information security. The more that can be done to regularly educate and remind them of the small things they can do goes a long way towards protecting your organization.
As our holiday gift to you unsung hero IT admins, we thought we’d provide some useful tips to pass along to employees to help make your job a little bit easier next year. Feel free to download and share!
{Editor's note: This article was previously published on 12-02-14 but has been updated}