COVID-19 disrupted the fabric of society. To curb the spread, teams were abruptly shifted to remote work. However, this transition unleashed new security challenges for organizations in two critical areas.
First, the absence of remote work security awareness, coupled with elevated stress and the presence of unvetted individuals in home offices (think shared living spaces), has significantly increased the risk of cyber threats. Second, as businesses scramble to manage these risks, employees' personal data and activities are now more vulnerable to breaches.
This stems from the fast-tracked adoption of remote-monitoring systems, communication tools, and management software, all of which raise privacy and ethical red flags. Our article dives into the questions that need to be asked and answered to grasp the scope of the problem and map out real solutions.
What is the State of Remote Work Security in 2025?
According to the Remote Work Security Assessment 2025-2033 Overview by MarketResearchForecast, the remote-work-security market is expanding. This surge is driven by the widespread shift to remote work and the growing need to shield sensitive data systems from cyber threats.
The market is projected to hit $1.5 billion by 2026, growing at a 14.2-percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2021 and 2026. The ever-increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks and the spike in data breaches are further propelling this growth.
In terms of threats and risks, Jobera notes the following:
60 percent of remote workers are risking it all with unsecured personal devices.
Cyber threats have jumped 72 percent for chief information security Officers (CISOs) since the pandemic hit.
Remote work is fueling a 20 percent rise in ransomware attacks.
63 percent of businesses report that remote work directly led to data breaches.
Email-phishing attacks have soared by 80 percent due to remote work.
68 percent of companies are bracing for even more cyber-hurdles as remote work expands.
61 percent of IT professionals believe that remote work is heightening the risk of cyber-breaches.
The main takeaway: Companies continue to channel substantial resources into cybersecurity, yet despite these persistent investments, teams remain vulnerable to hacks and data breaches.
With that in mind, it helps to delve into the sources of the most formidable threats facing these teams.
What are the Key Security Risks in Distributed Team Environments?
Cyber incidents are all too common in today's workplace, with a host of loopholes regularly emerging from these vulnerability hotspots. Here are the dangers that remote teams must keep watch on their radar.
Device Vulnerabilities
Remote workers often use personal devices, which may lack proper security controls. These devices can be infected with malware, making them easy targets for cybercriminals. If a worker accesses company data from a compromised device, attackers could steal login credentials or install malicious software. In traditional office setups, IT teams can enforce security policies, but remote work increases the risk of unauthorized access due to weak security measures.
Network Security Issues
Another risk to watch out for and be mindful of is unsecured Wi-Fi networks, especially public hotspots. Attackers can exploit network vulnerabilities to intercept data, perform man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, or deploy ransomware. Since centralized systems store large amounts of sensitive data in one place, a single breach can jeopardize an entire organization.
Compliance Issues
Remote work can make it harder for companies to follow rules that protect people's data, like GDPR and HIPAA. GDPR is a European Union law about data privacy, and HIPAA is a US law about protecting health information.
If companies don't follow these rules when their employees work remotely, they could face fines or other legal punishments. This is why companies need to make sure their remote work policies meet these data protection standards.
Identity and Access Management Challenges
Nearly 1.2 percent of all emails sent are malicious, totaling 3.4 billion phishing emails each day. These phishing attacks are now more advanced and frequent, using AI to trick employees into giving away their login information. Attackers can also easily find a weaknesses in poorly managed access controls.
Risks of Centralized Servers
Many companies still use centralized services to communicate, even though the number of hacks and data breaches is rising. Sharing sensitive data online feels risky, so adopting P2P video conferencing gives remote team leaders more confidence when discussing sensitive company information.
Can Work-from-Home Employees Beat These Threats?
By implementing authentication and access control strategies, remote teams can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and maintain a secure remote work environment. Below are techniques and tools to help.
Workforce Training
According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) 2023, human error is responsible for 74 percent of security breaches. Remote workers, laser-focused on meeting deadlines and hitting performance targets, often assume that their cybersecurity measures are foolproof or simply don’t give it a second thought.
This negligence makes remote employees the prime, low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals. Hackers know this all too well, especially in the US, where over 7 million attacks per million people were recorded in just one year. In fact, 20 percent of businesses have reported experiencing a data breach traced back to a remote worker’s terminal.
The most critical step every business can take is to invest in robust employee training. Simply put, employees may not fully grasp the danger they, and the company, face when they overlook security protocols. Regular training sessions are essential for keeping staff abreast of emerging risks, current vulnerabilities, and best practices in cybersecurity.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication is a security process where users provide two or more verification factors to gain access to an application, account, or system.
Instead of just asking for a password, MFA asks for a second layer of security, which could be a one-time code sent to a phone, a biometric scan, or 3rd pary authenticator apps. Even if an attacker gains access to the password, they would still need the second factor to get into the system. MFA makes it significantly harder for attackers to breach an account.
Principle of Least Privilege
The Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) is the practice of granting users only the minimum level of access needed to perform their job functions. Under this principle, each employee or system is granted access only to the resources necessary for their role. For instance, an employee in the finance department will not have access to HR records unless their job requires it.
Although an account can still be compromised, the potential damage is minimized. Attackers will only have access to a small subset of resources, reducing the overall impact. PoLP also prevents insider threats, which, according to Jobera, climb for 58 percent of companies with remote work. As users are restricted to what they need, it’s harder for disgruntled employees to cause harm to the organization.
Identity & Access Management
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework for managing digital identities and controlling user access to resources within a network. IAM systems allow IT administrators to define roles and responsibilities and then manage who can access specific data or systems. It guarantees that only authorized staff can use certain information or applications.
This design also streamlines processes like creating new user accounts, removing inactive accounts, and modifying access permissions. Such solutions also create a structured approach to managing identities so that permissions are kept up-to-date and consistent, and in that way, teams reduce the chance of privilege escalation by attackers.
Virtual Private Network
Jobera also mentioned that 70 percent of remote workers don’t use VPNs, which increases the chances of an attack. A VPN creates a secure, encrypted connection between a user’s device and the company’s network, ensuring private access even over public internet connections.
When an employee uses a VPN, their internet traffic is routed through a secure tunnel, which prevents anyone on the same network (like a public Wi-Fi) from intercepting or viewing their data.
Since the data is encrypted, it is nearly impossible for unauthorized users to intercept or steal it, whether they’re using unsecured networks or not. This makes communication much harder to breach.
Zero Trust Network Architecture
Zero Trust is a security framework that assumes no user or device should be trusted by default, whether inside or outside the network. All-access requests must be continuously verified, regardless of the user's location.
Zero Trust works by requiring continuous authentication and authorization for every user and device trying to access company resources, even if they are in the internal network. It uses real-time data and behavior analytics to assess the risk level and adapt access accordingly. This means that user actions are scrutinized, and access is granted based on the principle of “never trust, always verify.”
Say an attacker gains access to one part of the network, they still must pass through rigorous security checks at every step, making it much more difficult for breaches to escalate or spread throughout the organization.
Secure Video Conferencing & Encrypted Messaging
Secure video conferencing and encrypted messaging keep sensitive conversations and shared data safe through communication platforms. Most communication services use encryption protocols to protect video and voice data during transmission, but they aren't as private as they claim. Many require personal information for login, and most are centralized, creating a single point of failure. For example, Telegram recently experienced a breach where more than 300 million emails and passwords were shared on Telegram cybercrime channels, demonstrating the risks of centralized systems.
End-to-end encryption ensures that only the intended recipients can view or hear the conversation, while unauthorized parties cannot eavesdrop. Another type of encryption method used is asymmetric. This is when public-private key pairs are used to secure data transmission and verification. The public key is available to everyone and is used for encrypting data. The private key, on the other hand, is kept secret and is necessary for decrypting the data.
You can read our article on asymmetric vs. end-end encryption to understand their different workings better. But the main thing you should probably know is that neither of these methods is foolproof by itself. For example, in asymmetric encryption, a server creates the encryption keys and sends them to parties engaged in a call. If a hacker manages to breach that server, all those keys can be exposed, giving them the ability to read everyone’s private conversations—even though they’re labeled as “end-to-end” encrypted.
EXTRA SAFE goes further by incorporating a peer-to-peer connection model with asymmetric encryption that ensures the decryption key stays on your device alone and never passes through a server. Even if the platform is compromised, attackers can’t read your messages. With the keys stored solely on your device, only you hold the “password” that can unlock your data. Moreover, when a call ends on EXTRA SAFE, there's no trace left – all messages are destroyed, leaving no data to compromise.
Why Remote Professionals Choose EXTRA SAFE to Protect Their Data and Business
Increasingly, remote team leaders and freelancers are realizing they can’t trust every communication platform to transact their business and conduct daily tasks. For example, Brenton, who is a content creator and UGC coach, shared his experience using EXTRA SAFE.
A few months ago, Brenton went through an ordeal when someone impersonated him online. They messaged his friends and family, pretending to be him, asking for money. “It was stressful, confusing, and honestly, I felt violated,” he says. But beyond the embarrassment and frustration, the experience opened his eyes to a bigger problem: how easy it was for hackers to access his account.
For him, EXTRA SAFE was a discovery, and for the first time, he felt in control again.
“It’s the only app that gives me real peace of mind. Since EXTRA SAFE is secured with blockchain encryption, there’s no central server for hackers to target. It’s like having a digital lockbox for my conversations. No downloads, no sign-ups, and no data collection, just secure, private chats. I use it for everything now, from work calls to personal conversations. If you value your privacy, you need to try it.”
How EXTRA SAFE Keeps Remote Teams Secure
EXTRA SAFE is a peer-to-peer video-conferencing platform that secures communications using asymmetric-encryption techniques, the same cryptographic model employed by blockchain-based systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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EXTRA SAFE is fundamentally about providing assurance to remote teams: assurance that your private conversations remain confidential, sensitive negotiations, deal-making discussions, and confidential reports won’t end up in the wrong hands, and assurance that when you hit “end call,” no data is left behind or lingering on centralized servers, where it could be accessed by third parties.
Consider practical scenarios like these:
A leadership team finalizing a high-stakes acquisition.
A finance department reviewing salary structures and budget allocations.
A lawyer advising a client on a sensitive case.
A cybersecurity team sharing login credentials for critical systems.
A startup founder pitching their next big idea to investors.
In these instances, a breach could result in millions lost, reputations tarnished, or intellectual property compromised. That’s why EXTRA SAFE implements multiple layers of security to safeguard you.
You engage in a P2P framework
Team calls, video meetings, and screen-sharing activities occur directly between users, circumventing centralized server-side infrastructure that could be susceptible to interception or data logging. Essentially, this technology eliminates the common attack vector often targeted in data-breach scenarios.
Your conversations are secured with asymmetric encryption
EXTRA SAFE surpasses traditional video conferencing tools that rely on symmetric encryption techniques, which depend on a shared key. Instead, it employs asymmetric encryption, generating two distinct keys: a public encryption key for encrypting and a private decryption key for decrypting. This approach mitigates risks associated with key exchanges and ensures that only the intended recipient can access the protected data.
You don’t need any setup or identity verification
EXTRA SAFE excels in simplicity and ensures complete user anonymity. Unlike most communication services that require phone numbers, email addresses, or social accounts, EXTRA SAFE operates without any identity verification. Users can simply access a secure link to start a private call, leaving no trace of personal data.
EXTRA SAFE Browser Lite is now available for free at extrasafe.chat.