Remote Team Security: 7 Practical Steps to Protect Your Business (UK SME Guide)

Remote and hybrid working gives UK businesses flexibility. It also creates more places for attackers to target.

Your team may connect from home, a shared workspace, a hotel or a coffee shop. They may use company laptops, personal phones and cloud applications. Each connection needs to be managed carefully.

The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that 43% of UK businesses reported a cyber breach or attack in the previous 12 months. Only 36% provided a VPN for staff connecting remotely.

Separate SME research commonly cited alongside the survey suggests that around 60% of SMEs allow personal equipment for work and 58% of SME employees connect to free public Wi-Fi. These figures should be treated as indicative rather than direct headline findings from the government survey. The message is still clear: remote access needs stronger controls.

Here are seven practical steps to improve remote team security.

1. Know who is connecting, from which device and to what

You cannot secure what you cannot see.

Start by creating a simple inventory of:

Employees, contractors and temporary workers.
Company-owned laptops, phones and tablets.
Approved personal devices.
Cloud services and business applications.
Users with administrator access.
Systems containing sensitive or personal data.

This does not need to be a complicated technical project. A spreadsheet is better than no record at all.

For each user and device, record:

Who owns it.
What it is used for.
Which systems it can access.
Whether it is encrypted.
Whether security updates are applied.
When access should be removed.

Review the list when someone joins, changes role or leaves the business. Remove old accounts quickly. Disable unused devices and applications.

This is especially important for startups, where access can grow informally as the business develops.

Laptop, smartphone and security key arranged on a clean white desk with a green secure connection

2. Make multi-factor authentication the default

A password alone is not enough for remote access.

Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, adds another check. This could be an approval notification, an authenticator app or a physical security key.

Enable MFA for:

Business email.
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
File storage and collaboration platforms.
Remote desktop services.
VPN accounts.
Financial and payroll systems.
Administrator accounts.
Customer relationship management systems.

Start with administrator and finance accounts if you cannot enable MFA everywhere immediately.

Also apply these basic rules:

Use a separate account for administration.
Do not share accounts.
Use a password manager.
Block access after repeated failed login attempts.
Review active sessions and connected devices.
Remove access immediately when someone leaves.

The 2025/2026 survey found that 47% of UK businesses used some form of two-factor authentication. That is an improvement, but it still leaves many organisations exposed.

MFA is also a practical control that supports Cyber Essentials, particularly when combined with appropriate access controls and secure configuration.

3. Set clear rules for personal devices

Bring your own device, or BYOD, can reduce costs. It can also create uncertainty.

A personal laptop may be shared with family members. It may lack encryption, antivirus protection or current security updates. Business files may be downloaded without the company knowing.

Choose one of three clear approaches:

Company-owned devices only for business systems.
Approved personal devices with defined security requirements.
Limited access from personal devices, such as browser-only email with no downloads.

If personal devices are allowed, require:

Screen lock and strong device passwords.
Automatic security updates.
Supported operating systems.
Device encryption.
Malware protection.
No local storage of sensitive data unless approved.
A process for reporting lost or stolen devices.
The ability to remove business data when employment ends.

Document these rules in your remote working and acceptable use policies. Make them easy for employees to understand.

Cyber Essentials includes controls covering secure configuration, malware protection, software updates and user access. A well-managed device policy helps you address these areas in a structured way.

4. Secure home and public connections

Home Wi-Fi should use WPA2 or WPA3 security and a strong, unique router password. Employees should change default router credentials and install firmware updates when available.

For public Wi-Fi:

Avoid accessing sensitive systems where possible.
Do not use open networks for financial activity or administration.
Use a trusted mobile hotspot when practical.
Require a VPN where it is appropriate for your systems.
Confirm the network name before connecting.
Never ignore browser certificate warnings.

A VPN creates an encrypted connection between the user and the business service. It can be valuable for access to internal networks and systems.

However, a VPN is not a complete security solution. It does not fix a compromised laptop, a stolen password or a phishing attack. Cloud applications should also be configured with MFA, access controls and security monitoring.

Your policy should state:

Which systems require a VPN.
When staff must use one.
Whether personal VPN services are allowed.
How staff should work from public locations.
What to do if a connection appears suspicious.

5. Keep devices updated and protected

Attackers regularly exploit known weaknesses in operating systems, browsers, applications and network devices.

Set devices to update automatically wherever possible. Define a clear deadline for applying important security updates. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey reports that only 34% of UK businesses had a policy to apply software security updates within 14 days.

Your baseline should include:

Automatic operating system updates.
Supported versions of business applications.
Anti-malware protection.
Host firewalls.
Full-disk encryption.
Screen locking after inactivity.
Removal of local administrator rights.
Secure backups for important data.
A process for replacing unsupported devices.

Test that these controls are actually working. A policy is not evidence that a device is protected.

If your team uses cloud services, review the security settings regularly. Check external sharing, forwarding rules, connected applications and inactive accounts.

6. Train staff to spot phishing and report problems quickly

Remote workers are often targeted through email, messaging apps, video calls and phone calls.

Phishing remains the most common type of breach reported in the government survey. In 2025/2026, 38% of UK businesses reported phishing attacks.

Training should cover:

Unexpected invoices and payment requests.
Fake Microsoft or Google login pages.
Requests for passwords or MFA codes.
Urgent messages from senior staff.
Suspicious file-sharing notifications.
Fake recruitment or supplier messages.
Video-call and phone impersonation.
Safe reporting procedures.

Keep the guidance practical. Tell staff exactly what to do:

Stop and do not click.
Verify the request using a separate channel.
Report the message.
Change passwords if details were entered.
Contact the bank quickly if money may be at risk.

Avoid blaming employees. People are more likely to report mistakes when the process is clear and supportive.

Remote worker laptop with abstract phishing warning and glowing green verification shield

7. Give security an owner and test your response

Remote team security should not sit entirely with one busy business owner or an external IT provider.

Assign responsibility for:

Approving remote access.
Reviewing user and device inventories.
Monitoring security updates.
Managing leavers.
Reviewing supplier access.
Reporting risks to senior leadership.
Coordinating incident response.

Create a short incident response plan. It should explain who to contact if:

A laptop is lost.
An account is compromised.
A phishing link is opened.
A payment request looks fraudulent.
Business data is accidentally shared.
A cloud service becomes unavailable.

Test the plan with a short tabletop exercise. For example, ask: “What would we do if the finance manager’s account was taken over at 9am on a Monday?”

This is where a virtual CISO, or virtual security manager, can help. A Virtual CISO from SimpleCyber gives growing businesses access to strategic security leadership without the cost of a full-time hire.

Support can include:

A remote working security roadmap.
Risk and access reviews.
Policy development.
Incident response planning.
Board-level reporting.
Cyber Essentials preparation.
Ongoing oversight and improvement.

How Cyber Essentials and DCC fit in

Remote working controls should support a wider security framework.

Cyber Essentials provides a practical baseline across:

Firewalls and internet gateways.
Secure configuration.
Security updates.
User access controls.
Malware protection.

Cyber Essentials Plus adds a hands-on technical assessment. It provides stronger assurance that your controls work in practice.

If your business supplies the UK Ministry of Defence or a prime contractor, Defence Cyber Certification (DCC) may also be relevant. DCC can require evidence around governance, monitoring, supplier controls and how systems are protected across your operating environment. Remote access, home working and third-party connections should be included in your scope and evidence.

The right order is usually:

Understand your users, devices and systems.
Identify gaps.
Prioritise practical remediation.
Build evidence as you improve.
Complete the relevant assessment.

Remote security leadership desk with laptop risk dashboard and glowing green roadmap line

A practical next step

You do not need to solve every security issue at once.

Start this week by checking:

Do all important accounts use MFA?
Can you list every device with business access?
Are leavers removed promptly?
Are personal devices controlled?
Are staff clear on public Wi-Fi rules?
Can employees report suspicious messages?
Does someone own the remote security plan?

If you would like straightforward help securing your remote or hybrid team, preparing for Cyber Essentials or understanding whether DCC applies, contact SimpleCyber. We will help you identify the priorities and agree practical next steps.