Your team is logging in from kitchen tables, coffee shops, and home offices across the country. Remote working brings real benefits, but it also opens your business to threats that a traditional office environment makes much harder to exploit. This guide covers the practical steps every UK business should take to keep data, systems, and staff secure wherever they are working.
Why Remote Working Creates Extra Risk
The numbers are stark. According to the UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026, 43% of UK businesses reported a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. Of those, phishing was the most common attack method, experienced by 38% of all businesses surveyed and identified as the most disruptive type by 69% of those affected.
Remote and hybrid workers are a particularly attractive target. Home networks are less secure than business ones. Personal devices often lack the same protections as company equipment. And staff working alone are more likely to miss the warning signs of a suspicious email or link.
Around 27% of UK workers now operate in hybrid roles and 13% work fully remotely, according to data published in late 2025. For many businesses, the majority of daily work now happens outside the office perimeter entirely.
Lock Down Logins with Multi-Factor Authentication
The single biggest step most businesses can take right now is enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all systems. MFA requires staff to verify their identity with a second step, such as a code sent to their phone, after entering their password. Even if a password is stolen through phishing, an attacker cannot log in without that second factor.
Make it mandatory on your email, file storage, accounting tools, and every other cloud service your team uses. Weak or reused passwords remain one of the most common causes of account takeovers in UK businesses. MFA closes that door quickly and at no additional cost if you are already using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
If you are not sure whether MFA is properly set up across your organisation, our cyber security team can check and configure it for you without disrupting day-to-day work.
Every Device That Connects to Your Business Needs to Be Secured
Around 60% of UK SMEs allow staff to use personal devices to access company data when working from home. That creates real risk if those devices are not properly set up. At a minimum, every device used for work should have full-disk encryption enabled, automatic software updates switched on, antivirus software active, and a screen lock after a short period of inactivity.
For businesses where staff use their own devices, a clear acceptable use policy sets out what is and is not allowed. If you have a managed IT support partner in place, they can apply device management tools that enforce these settings remotely, so your team does not have to remember to do it themselves.
Your Staff’s Home Network Is Not Your Office Network
A business office usually has a firewall, network monitoring, and security controls built in. A home broadband router typically has none of those things. There are practical steps to reduce the risk. Encourage staff to keep their home router firmware updated and to change the default admin password if they have not done so already. Many routers ship with the same default login credentials, which are publicly searchable.
Consider a business VPN (Virtual Private Network) for staff who access sensitive systems remotely. A VPN encrypts the connection between a device and your business systems, making it much harder for anyone to intercept traffic on an unsecured network. Coffee shop Wi-Fi is a particular risk, and a VPN is the most practical answer to it.
Train Your Team to Spot Phishing
Despite phishing being the most common cause of breaches, more than half of UK SME employees have received no cybersecurity training. You do not need a full-day course. Short, practical sessions covering the basics make a significant difference. Teach your team to check the sender’s actual email address rather than just the display name, pause before clicking any link that creates urgency, and report suspicious messages rather than simply deleting them.
Running a simulated phishing test every few months is also highly effective. Most businesses that carry out these tests see a measurable improvement in how staff respond after just one or two rounds. It is one of the highest-return activities available for improving your security posture at low cost.
Have a Plan for When Something Goes Wrong
Remote working security is not only about prevention. You also need to know what happens if a device is lost, an account is compromised, or a staff member accidentally clicks on something they should not. Your basic response plan should cover who to call, how to revoke access quickly, and how to recover from an incident without losing critical data.
Your IT support provider should have a clear escalation route for incidents. If you do not currently have one, that is the first thing to sort out. Our remote IT support team is available to help businesses respond to security incidents quickly and get systems back under control with minimal disruption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a VPN if my staff already use Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365 is hosted on Microsoft’s servers and encrypted in transit, so a VPN is not strictly required just for 365. However, if your staff also access internal systems, shared drives on a local server, or other on-premises software, a VPN provides an important extra layer of protection for that traffic.
What should I do if a staff member loses their laptop?
Contact your IT provider immediately. If you have device management in place, remote wipe the device right away. Change any passwords the staff member used on that device and review whether any business accounts were accessed from it recently. Speed is important here, so do not wait to see if the device turns up before acting.
Is it safe for staff to use personal email for work purposes?
No. Personal email accounts do not have the same security controls as a business email account and they are harder to manage centrally if someone leaves. Sensitive business communications should always stay within your company email system, where they can be monitored, backed up, and revoked if necessary.
How do I know if a remote worker’s device has been compromised?
Look for unusual account activity such as logins from unexpected locations, software behaving unexpectedly, or a device running noticeably slower than usual. Regular monitoring through a managed IT solution is the most reliable way to catch these things early before they become a much bigger problem.
Can small businesses afford proper remote working security?
Most of the core controls including MFA, device encryption, software updates, and a clear IT policy cost little or nothing to put in place. For businesses that want a more complete solution, outsourced IT support typically costs between £40 and £100 per user per month, which is considerably less than the cost of recovering from a single breach.
Should staff use company-owned devices rather than personal ones?
Ideally, yes. Company-owned devices are easier to manage, monitor, and secure. If budget is a constraint, a clear bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy with minimum security requirements is a workable middle ground. Your IT support provider can help you define what is acceptable and put controls in place to enforce it.
If you would like a review of your current remote working security setup, get in touch with the team at UK IT Services for a free consultation. We work with businesses across the UK in finance, construction, healthcare, education, and housing, and we can tell you exactly where the gaps are.