What is a Home Network?
Like a company network, your home network is two or more devices connected together. Most likely your devices don't rely on physical network cables for the connection but instead use your wifi.
In addition to the laptops, desktops, and printers that were once all a home network consisted of, wireless-enabled devices have changed all of that. And then work-from-home happened. These significant changes to what was a simple, isolated home network create both convenience and risk.
How Is a Home Network Different Than a Business Network?
When you look at the home network above, one thing quickly stands out. Your home network is more than just your household using the internet and some applications. All your smart devices have quietly joined your network. They are also using your wifi to continually send and receive information over the internet.
You've seen how
data travels and how it is stored on cloud servers. Companies have safeguards in place that the typical home network doesn't have. Here are a few differences.
Business Network
IT team manages internet traffic using strict firewall rules.
IT team manages router and firewall passwords.
IT team manages who has access to the network. This protects company and client data.
Companies have policies on what software and applications can be downloaded, installed, and accessed by each user and device.
Home Network
Your router/firewall combo has no rules to manage internet traffic.
Home wifi routers and devices often use the factory default passwords. This makes unauthorized access of your home network too easy.
Anyone with access to your home network can access everything on every device.
Installing, downloading, and accessing any software and app is risky.
How to Create the Secure Home Network You Didn't Know You Needed
Here are few things you can do right now to secure your home network. If you are working from home and using your home network for company business, protecting your company's valuable data is critical.
Change the default passwords on your devices.
Use strong passwords that are at least 8 characters long, are a combination of uppercase, lowercase, special characters, and numbers. Test your password strength here.
Use a password manager to store all passwords. Never store a written copy on a computer or online storage such as Dropbox, iCloud, or iDrive.
If you are using the desktop or laptop for work, never give access to anyone, even your trusted household members.
Keep Learning
What is a Simple Business Network?
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