Beyond the Firewall: How to Secure Your Remote Team’s Home Routers

If your team operates in-house, it is easy to set up a solid security protocol. This is because all communications and data move through a centralized system. Intrusion detection tools can be placed on company-owned devices and networks.

The challenge comes when some (or all) of the team members are working remotely. That means your business data travels over networks that are outside your control. While you may invest in enterprise-grade firewalls, hackers may bypass these defenses simply by exploiting weak points such as the home router.

How do you ensure your business isn’t compromised? Is it really possible to achieve 100% home router security? Let’s find out.

The Hidden Risks of Home Routers in Remote Work

A router is like the traffic controller of your home network. All devices in your house (laptop, TV,  phone, etc.) pass through it before going online. If it is compromised, everything behind it is at risk. For instance, hackers can inject malware or redirect employees to fake websites to steal their login details.

The biggest challenge is that hacking activities won’t stop anytime soon. A 2023 report by Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs exposed “HiatusRAT” which is a malware campaign that hijacked over 100 small business routers. Attackers used these infected routers to steal data and maintain access to their systems. In another study, 95% of the 976 residential routers examined were vulnerable to attacks such as cache poisoning or fake record injections.

Some of the common router security flaws that hackers exploit include:

• Default credentials: Routers often ship with generic admin usernames and passwords. If employees never change these, attackers can exploit them to take control of the device.
• Outdated firmware: Many routers are rarely updated after installation which gives hackers an easy entry point.
• Weak encryption: Some older routers still use outdated security protocols like WEP instead of WPA2 or WPA3 which makes Wi-Fi traffic easy to crack.
• Unsecured remote access: Routers sometimes allow remote management by default. If left enabled, this can give attackers a way to gain full control.

How to Secure Your Team’s Home Routers 

Let’s be real. Most home routers aren’t set up with business security in mind. While you can’t control every personal network directly, you can put strategies in place to strengthen those setups. Here are a few strategies:

Educate Employees on Router Security

Train your employees on various security measures such as:

• Changing default router passwords.
• Recognizing suspicious activities.
• Turning off unnecessary features such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) that make it easier for cybercriminals to bypass firewalls and access internal systems.
• Enabling WPA3 encryption.
• Creating a separate guest network. A guest Wi-Fi network ensures personal devices don’t mix with work devices. This segmentation reduces the risk of attack if one device is compromised.
• Restricting router admin access. Access to router settings should be tightly controlled. This can prevent attackers on the same network or those exploiting weak points from tampering with key configurations.

Provide Routers

Consider providing employees with company-approved routers or managed devices that come pre-configured with secure settings. These routers should be designed to update automatically and close vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

Enforce VPN Usage

A VPN encrypts all data traveling between the employee’s device and the company network to shield it from an interception. If a hacker compromises the router, the data will remain unreadable.

Adopt Zero Trust Network Access

This security measure ensures that a compromised router doesn’t automatically grant access to sensitive company systems. 

This means every connection is treated as untrusted until proven otherwise. It might include validating that the employee’s device is patched and ensuring the router’s connection is encrypted.

Regular Monitoring

Hackers often leave digital footprints before launching a full attack. The good news is that regular monitoring can help you catch those signs early (such as sudden spikes in outbound data or repeated failed login attempts). 

When the team notices unusual traffic patterns, they can push updates and security configurations remotely. For example, administrators can enforce minimum security standards such as requiring WPA3 encryption or automatically disabling risky features like remote management.

Ready to Secure your Team’s Home Routers?

Many businesses now allow employees to work remotely. While this offers flexibility, cost savings and productivity benefits, few organizations put the same level of security measures in place as they would in the office. This exposes company networks to cybercriminals who target weak points in the networks.

The good news is that these risks are preventable. You can reduce the chances of a breach by securing the router with strong passwords, using proper encryption, training your team to detect a security breach, monitoring the system and using the right tools. 

At Sound Computers, our team helps businesses build and maintain secure remote network policies tailored to their needs. We configure and secure routers and enforce VPN and Zero Trust practices to keep your systems safe. We also train employees on essential security protocols, conduct regular audits and offer centralized monitoring to detect threats early and push updates remotely. Get in touch with us to schedule a free consultation with our team.