Creating a Risk-Free Home Office for Cybersecurity Professionals

The demand for cybersecurity expertise has reached such a fever pitch that many cybersecurity professionals are finding incredible success and exciting opportunities in the growing freelance marketplace. Indeed, freelancing offers dozens of benefits when the market is hot: setting your own rates, controlling your schedule, choosing your clients and projects, etc. For many cybersecurity experts, it’s a first step toward entrepreneurship and launching one’s own firm.

However, before you can peddle your skills as a freelance cybersecurity professional, you need a place where you can work — and in the field of cybersecurity, not just any home office will do. Here are a few tips for creating a safe, secure home office that allows you to build your business as a freelancer.

Choose Your Workspace Wisely

It should go without saying, you shouldn’t set up your home cybersecurity workstation at the kitchen table. Every freelancer needs a dedicated space where they can focus on their work. For cybersecurity professionals, the home office must be a private space; family members or other housemates shouldn’t be able to “shoulder surf,” and strangers off the street shouldn’t be afforded an unobstructed view. Ideally, you will be able to lock up your office when you aren’t working, so no one will be able to interfere with your projects.

If you don’t have a bedroom to spare, you might want to build an office somewhere on your property. Whether you use a repurposed shed or a specialized office space, you should make the workspace as secure as possible. Follow building codes for home additions to ensure your office is safe and compliant. Remember: physical security is just as important as cybersecurity when protecting your data. To that end, you must follow building codes about wiring, fire hazards, and more.

You might apply privacy film to your windows to prevent prying eyes from watching your activities, and you should add additional locks to all potential points of entry. Smart home security can be useful in securing your cybersecurity office; you might install smart locks, lights, and cameras for extra protection for your devices and data.

Encrypt Everything

As a cybersecurity expert, you should have an innate understanding of the importance of data encryption. And yet, some of the simplest measures you take to keep your clients safe might be ignored when it comes to your home network and devices.

If you are working off a Wi-Fi connection, you should invest in a new router at least every two years. In addition to maintaining the highest internet speeds, newer routers can provide the best encryption for your home network. Also, install a hardware firewall on your home network and around any servers on your property. You must do this on top of any VPN services you use while accessing client networks and data.

Any data you store on your work devices, too, should be secured through encryption. Any local drives or servers you use in your office space to conduct your work should be encrypted, and you should employ cloud encryption services to protect data as it travels to and from your cloud-based applications.

You might have overlooked these measures when you were an employee, but as the sole proprietor of your freelancing business, you are responsible for every aspect of your own cybersecurity. The more layers of encryption you wrap your home office in, the safer you and your clients will be.

Understand Limitations

So many cybersecurity duties can be performed remotely, like monitoring security logs, providing security guidance, testing security responses, and more. These tend to be the most common tasks outsourced to cybersecurity freelancers. However, you may encounter clients who need more intensive cybersecurity assistance, which might mean you have to leave your cozy office at home. After all, you cannot assess on-site network configurations or cybersecurity hardware from so far away.

You may want to create some form of go bag with all the devices you may need when working on location. Your go bag will likely include a mobile device like a tablet or laptop as well as any wires you may need to connect to company networks. You might also have more rudimentary tools for working on-site with clients, like a notepad and pen, which come in handy more often than you might expect.

The more permanent your commitment to working as a freelance cybersecurity specialist, the more seriously you should invest in your home office space. You can probably make a lifelong career from cybersecurity freelancing — or even pivot into managing your own cybersecurity firm — if you move fast to capitalize on the growing market with the right equipment and attitude for working from home.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie Brenneman

Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in lifestyle, mental health, education, and fitness-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Brenneman, you can follow her on Twitter.