• About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Contact Us
  • Offers
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts
  • Digital Magazine
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Self Development
  • Growth
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Contact Us
  • Offers
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Podcasts
  • Digital Magazine
NZBusiness Magazine

Type and hit Enter to search

Linkedin Facebook Instagram Youtube
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Self Development
  • Growth
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
NZBusiness Magazine
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Self Development
  • Growth
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Sustainability
Covid 19Technology

How teenagers may be compromising your data

Working from home and still sharing home Wi-Fi with family members? Daniel Watson explains why that can be problematic for your business. New Zealand’s latest Covid.19 lockdown is a timely reminder […]

Glenn Baker
Glenn Baker
February 28, 2021 2 Mins Read
986

Working from home and still sharing home Wi-Fi with family members? Daniel Watson explains why that can be problematic for your business.

New Zealand’s latest Covid.19 lockdown is a timely reminder to SMBs that pandemic disruption has a way to go yet. This means it is time to move beyond the casual approach to work-from-home arrangements because it is a serious cybersecurity risk to businesses.

Author of the book ‘She’ll Be Right (Not!) – a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners – SMB cybersecurity expert and managing director of Vertech IT Services, Daniel Watson, said sharing home Wi-Fi with family members is problematic.

“For example, it is not unusual for teenagers in the home to download, stream and play games that could create a backdoor for cybercriminals to access confidential company and customer data.

“A shared home Wi-Fi network is logically on the same network as the rest of the family. It is not unusual for teenagers to download content, play games or stream live content from dodgy sites like pirated TV platform CouchTuner.

“Dodgy sites are riddled with trojan software, which will use the family Wi-Fi as a stepping-stone to affect other devices on the network. It opens a backdoor for data theft and ransomware.

Watson encouraged SMB owners and leaders to start thinking long-term about securing their staff’s homeworking arrangements because cybercriminals see New Zealand as a ‘soft touch’.

 

1. Ensure your team’s home PCs are secure

Secure staff buy-in and then finance the installation of good anti-malware on all of your team’s home computers. “Encourage your people to have a conversation with their children and others in the household about what sites are not appropriate and the high risks – not to mention illegality – of accessing pirated content,” Watson said.

2. Where possible segregate networks

Where possible, particularly when it comes to managers and C-Suite executives who have greater access to confidential information, it is worth investing in equipment that protects the network. “If you are able, install an additional router in the home to separate company devices from the home network.”

3. Educate your team

Implement a cybersecurity awareness training programme to make staff aware of threats to themselves and the company when working on the home network. The training programme should cover permissible security arrangements for the home, including company policies and minimum standards. 

“I would follow this up by removing ‘local administrator rights’ from staff machines because there should not be many occasions where staff need to install new software on a work computer. 

“It may be inconvenient, but it protects your company – and your staff – from the increasing number of cybersecurity threats we are currently confronting,” Watson said.

 

For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-watson-smb-cybersecurity-expert-07424b12/

Volunteer, adventurer and author of the book ‘She’ll Be Right (Not!) – a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners – Daniel Watson is an SMB cybersecurity expert and managing director of Vertech IT Services. 

Share Article

Glenn Baker
Follow Me Written By

Glenn Baker

Glenn is a professional writer/editor with 50-plus years’ experience across radio, television and magazine publishing.

Other Articles

SilverLining_CVR-Biblio (2)
Previous

Silver Linings: Business lessons from the time of Covid

GranSkills
Next

Startup helps seniors join digital age

Next
GranSkills
February 28, 2021

Startup helps seniors join digital age

Previous
February 26, 2021

Silver Linings: Business lessons from the time of Covid

SilverLining_CVR-Biblio (2)

Subscribe to our newsletter

NZBusiness Digital Issue – June 2025

READ MORE

The Latest

The proof is in the powder. Cleanery cuts packaging waste while going global

August 22, 2025

KiwiNet announces 2025 Research Commercialisation Awards finalists

August 20, 2025

The thriving Napier business that’s served 3.3 million lunches to Kiwi kids

August 20, 2025

AI ambition outpaces infrastructure

August 20, 2025

Business for sale website NZBizBuySell acquired by Bizstats

August 14, 2025

FleetPartners launches smarter way for Kiwi businesses to choose and lease vehicles

August 14, 2025

Most Popular

Understanding AI
Nourishing success: Sam Bridgewater on his entrepreneurship journey with The Pure Food Co
NZ fintech in process of launching first bank designed for Open Banking and AI
Still learning after all these years
Economy, AI, and exports dominate 2025 business outlook

Related Posts

Building better businesses with transformative tech

July 31, 2025

We need to talk about AI

July 24, 2025
Technology and AI business

People, purpose, and the power of leaping first

July 23, 2025
Simon Bridges Video

Simon Bridges on AI, SME curiosity, and building billion-dollar niches

July 10, 2025
NZBusiness Magazine

New Zealand’s leading source for business news, training guides and opinion from small businesses to multi-national corporations.

© Pure 360 Limited.
All Rights Reserved.

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Magazine issues
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap

Categories

  • News
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Growth
  • Finance
  • Education & Development
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Sustainability

Follow Us

LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Self Development
  • Growth
  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Sustainability