Authored by: Bryan Lachapelle, President & CEO
At home, security incidents do not look like dramatic movie hacks. They look like stepping away from your laptop during a delivery or leaving it unlocked while you grab something from another room. Those ordinary moments, repeated over time, are how work devices end up exposed.
A remote work security checklist focuses on simple, practical controls that hold up in real life. Put it in place once, make it routine, and you will prevent the kinds of issues that hurt most because they were entirely avoidable.
Why Home Is a Different Security Environment
A work laptop does not magically become less secure at home. The environment around it does. In the office, there are built-in boundaries: fewer shared users, fewer casual touchpoints, and more predictable networks. At home, that same laptop operates in a space designed for convenience, not control.
For starters, physical exposure increases. At home, devices move from room to room. They sit on tables and countertops and are left unattended for short stretches throughout the day. That is why a remote work security checklist must treat physical security as part of cyber security.
In its training on device safety, CISA stresses the basics: keep devices secured, limit access, and lock them when you are not using them. Those simple habits matter more at home because there is no office culture quietly reinforcing them for you.
Second, home is where work and personal life collide, which creates messy and very human risks. The NI Cyber Security Centre is direct about it. Do not let other people use your work device, and do not treat it like the family laptop.
Third, the network environment is different. Home Wifi often starts with default settings, outdated router firmware, or passwords that have been shared with everyone who has ever visited.
CISA’s guidance on connecting a new computer to the internet outlines the baseline steps many people skip at home: secure your router, enable the firewall, use antivirus, and remove unnecessary software and default features.
Finally, remote access raises the stakes for identity. In its remote workforce security guidance, Microsoft frames remote security around a Zero Trust approach. The guidance emphasizes that access should be strongly authenticated and checked for anomalies before it is granted.
The Remote Work Security Checklist
Use this remote work security checklist as your minimum standard for company laptops at home. It is designed to be practical, repeatable, and easy to enforce without turning everyone into part-time IT employees.
Lock the Screen Every Time You Step Away
Set a short auto-lock timer and build the habit of locking your screen manually, even at home.
Store the Laptop Like It Is Valuable
Assume that out of sight is safer than out of the way. When you are finished, store your device somewhere protected. Do not leave it on the couch, the kitchen counter, or in the car.
Do Not Share Work Laptops With Family
At home, good intentions can still lead to accidental clicks. Even a quick “just checking something” can result in risky downloads, unfamiliar logins, or unwanted browser extensions.
Use a Strong Sign-In and MFA
Use a long passphrase instead of a short password, and never reuse it across accounts. Treat multifactor authentication (MFA) as a baseline requirement, not an optional extra.
Stop Using Devices That Cannot Update
If a laptop cannot receive security updates, it is not a work device. It is a risk.
Patch Fast
Updates are where most known issues get fixed. The longer you wait, the greater the risk. Enable automatic updates and restart when prompted.
Secure Home Wifi Like It Is Part of the Office
Use a strong Wifi password and enable modern encryption. If your router still has the default admin login or has not been updated in a long time, take that as your cue to fix it.
Use the Firewall and Keep Security Tools Switched On
Turn on your firewall, keep antivirus software active, and ensure both are properly configured. If security tools feel inconvenient, do not switch them off. Address the friction instead.
Remove Unnecessary Software
The more apps you install, the more updates you must manage and the more opportunities there are for something to go wrong. Remove software you do not need, disable unnecessary default features, and stick to approved applications from trusted sources.
Keep Work Data in Work Storage
Store work data only in approved systems. This keeps access controlled, audit-ready, and much easier to recover if something goes wrong. Avoid saving work documents to personal cloud accounts or personal backup services.
Be Wary of Unexpected Links and Attachments
If a message pressures you to click, open, download, or confirm immediately, treat it as suspicious. When in doubt, verify the request through a separate and trusted channel before taking any action.
Only Allow Access From Healthy Devices
The safest remote setups control access based on device health. Microsoft warns that unmanaged devices can become powerful entry points and emphasizes allowing access only from devices that meet security standards.
If you want remote work to remain seamless, your devices need to be home-proof by default. That means treating the fundamentals as non-negotiable: automatic screen locks, secure storage, protected sign-ins, timely updates, properly secured Wifi, and work data stored only in approved locations. Nothing complicated. Just consistent execution.
Start by adopting this remote work security checklist as your baseline standard. When the defaults are strong, you reduce avoidable incidents without slowing anyone down.
If you would like help turning these basics into a practical and enforceable remote work policy, contact us today. We will help you standardize protections across your team so remote work stays productive and secure.
