Remote Access Policy
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Executive Summary
The study has shed light on the discussion of remote access policy (RAP) of HeadChannel (HC). The RAP is significant in the COVID-19 pandemic situation where employees are remotely working due to health security. The study has analysed that in the remote working condition data security and confidentiality, unavailability of resources, integrity maintenance and time management are the major potential risk factors. The study evaluated the ISO 27000 standard for RAP formation where encryption of data is mandatory for data privacy. Besides, the communication medium has been described for maintaining integrity among employees. The study has synthesized that training programs will be held for expressing the RAP policies to employees.
Policy
The remote access policy (RAP) of HeadChannel is going to be discussed in this report for analysing the work from home policies during the COVID 19 pandemic situation. HeadChannel (HC) is a UK based software development company works with clients such as BBC Haymarket, Hospice group, Nestle Purina (Headchannel, 2020). The privacy and protection of data is a sensitive aspect of this software company and thus RAP has been made to set protocol for the employees who are going to work from home.
Identification of risk
Data security has been identified as the major risk of the remote working situation for the employees of HC. As discussed in the study by Cannito & Scavarda (2020), the confidentiality of data has to be maintained by HC as it is one of their major intellectual properties and in remote working situations, data theft can occur. The coding for softwaredevelopment is a major risk due to access to codes for employees who are working from home. Employee communication is a major risk in this aspect as communication through mobile network and internet are the only communication medium. The lack of communication can cause a loss in the integrity of employees which is a major risk factor.
The unavailability of resources for employees of HC working from home is a key risk factor. As stated in the study by Prasad et al. (020), there is a high chance of delay in the project completion as employees are working with high flexibility. Hence, time management can be a major issue for remote working employees. Therefore, the risk of confidentiality, integrity and availability is the identified risk factors for the remote working facility of HC.
Risk assessment
| Risk factor | Description | Risk owner | Likelihood | Impact | Result | Mitigation plan |
| Data security and confidentiality | The software coding can be at risk due to an insecure network of employees (Nemec et al. 2020). Besides, the client details, organizational information is at high risk as employees have physical independence of using data for their remote working. | Management and project manager | Low | High | High | The RAP policy should include data protection laws and regulations of the UK government for data security. The consequences of data theft and improper use of software should be conveyed to the employees. |
| Resource unavailability | The technical resources such as a computer, internet connection, software unavailability are key risks | Management and technical team | High | Low | Medium | Employees should be instructed to use their own device for office work. Besides, all software should be provided to individual employees from the management. As cited in the study by Arntz et al. (2020), the cloud storage of software can be arranged for all employees such that they can access the software they need. |
| Lack of integrity | Employees lack integrity due to lack of communication (Spence et al. 2020) | Management | Medium | High | High | The RAP should make video conferencing and frequent communication with colleagues and associated hierarchy mandatory for handling communication issues. |
| Time management | Working flexibility can cause time delay for project delivery | Management and project manager | Medium | Medium | Medium | The employees should be given the job with a strict deadline and the consequences of missing the deadline should be demonstrated in the RAP (Mahoney et al. 2020). |
Table 1: Risk register for HC regarding remote working
(Source: Mahoney et al. 2020)
Risk measurement and policy
ISO27000 presents the guidelines of the privacy information management system (PIMS) for the organizational data security policies. As argued in the study by Webb et al. (2020), HC must implement their RAP that includes the data security policy. ISO 27000 can be applied to any size of organizations and provide organizational policies for protecting companies against cybercrime. The data security and confidentiality are the first major risk factor which must be addressed in the RAP. In this context, the Data Protection Act of 2018 of the UK must be introduced in the RAP. The employees should be aware of the consequences such as penalty or imprisonment for data privacy breaching (Wynton, 2020). This policy should include the software usage protocols where permission from upper management must be needed for accessing the software cloud storage of HC.
The internal network of the employees must be secured using effective firewalls for preventing unauthorized access. The RAP must meet the security standards of ISO 27000 series where ISMS protection standards are given. As per the ISO 27000 standard technical measures such as security systems up-gradation, unauthorised access identification, employees work tracking must be implemented for PIMS and the RAP of HC follow this guideline. According to the study by Carreri & Dordoni (2020), following the ISO 27000, confidential communication should be done in an encrypted form such that no third party can decide the message or information. Therefore, the confidentiality of HC’s information can be protected using RAP.
Bring your own device (BYOD) policy must be included in RAP for resource availability. The policy includes the term of taking responsibilities of their own device during office work as HC is not liable for any device hampering. Besides, employees can claim management regarding the lack of software support for their work delay. The integrity of the organization must be maintained by fostering the communication between every stage of the hierarchy. As cited by Mahoney et al. (2020), the communication barriers must be removed in the RAP where employees should be given permission to contact the hierarchy for work-related discussion. Besides, the employees are given permission to contact management regarding employability issues. The communication medium is defined in RAP which includes e-mail, software chat, voice calling or video calling. Besides, all conferences and group meetings can be arranged through video conferencing for effective communication and integrity maintenance.
The time management and the project delivery process for remote working are mentioned in the RAP. The project must be submitted within the deadline and deadline flexibility must be decided by the upper hierarchy. As cited in the study by Nemec et al. (2020), the employees of HC can communicate with upper hierarchy regarding the deadline of the project, however, the final deadline must be maintained by all employees. As per RAP, deadline missing of projects will affect the performance appraisal of employees and thus it must be strictly followed. Therefore, all the risk assessment has been addressed in RAP such that the remote working guidelines can be cleared. The data privacy and management regulations must be maintained by employees of HC for effective professional development.
Communication of changes in the workplace
The RAP addresses the changes in the working condition to reduce the communication gap of employees in working from the home condition due to COVID-19. The changes have happened in the form of resource availability, communication, inter-relation maintenance and thus the adoption rate of employees should be high. Management of HC must take initiatives to communicate the changes and discuss the adoption technique with the employees. As depicted in the study by Akash & Tripathi (2020), the data security policies have been changed as the employees are working remotely and thus employees have to maintain strict data handling during their working hours. Besides, RAP has been made with the guideline of ISO 27000 and therefore employees have to adopt the high security of data management. VPN should be used for maintaining data privacy among the employees.
The RAP will be described to employees and all queries will be discussed by management of HC for portraying the new organizational policies. As stated by Arntz et al. (2020), the high significance of maintaining this policy will be explained to them such that they strictly follow the RAP. The process of encrypted network connection, VPN settings and other security measures will be demonstrated to the employees and detailed training will be provided to them for explaining the changes. The management is going to support the employees by adopting the new systems and analyse the effectiveness of RAP of HC. The evaluation process of RAP might bring changes to policies for increasing employee’s productivity.
Guidance and training
A training and development program regarding the4 adoption of changes for new remote working facilities will be arranged by the management of HC. In this training program, all employees will be trained regarding the RAP policies and the data security method (Hubbard et al. 2021). The adoption process and the ideal working hour flexibilities will be described to the employees. Besides, the advantages and disadvantages of remote working will be expressed to them for enhancing their remote working knowledge. The process of cloud storage access for software will be learned by the employees. Besides, the use of VPN and encrypted information will be depicted in this training program.
The significance of setting a workspace at home will be expelled and the necessary communication medium will be explained to employees of HC (Carreri & Dordoni, 2020). The communication tools such as voice calling through a mobile network, video calling through management software, Zoom, Google duo, Skype will be provided to the employees for effective communication. The maintenance and security of their own devices regarding office work will be demonstrated to the employees of HC. Hence, the training and guidance program will be helpful for employees as they can comprehend the RAP and remote working facility during COVID-19.
References
Akash, D.D. & Tripathi, S. 2020, “Analysing the Sentiments towards Work-From-Home Experience during COVID-19 Pandemic”, Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 8, no. 1.
Arntz, M., Sarra, B.Y., PhD. &Berlingieri, F.D. 2020, “Working from Home and COVID-19: The Chances and Risks for Gender Gaps”, Intereconomics, vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 381-386.
Baker, M.G., PhD. 2020, “Nonrelocatable Occupations at Increased Risk During Pandemics: United States, 2018”, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 110, no. 8, pp. 1126-1132.
Cannito, M. & Scavarda, A. 2020, “Childcare and Remote Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ideal Worker Model, Parenthood and Gender Inequalities in Italy”, Italian Sociological Review, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 801-820,801A.
Carreri, A. & Dordoni, A. 2020, “Academic and Research Work from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Gender Perspective”, Italian Sociological Review, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 821-845,821A.
Headchannel, 2020. About, Headchannel. Available at: https://headchannel.co.uk/ [Acceseed on: 1st January, 2020]
Hubbard, P., Reades, J. & Walter, H. 2021, “Viewpoint Shrinking homes, COVID-19 and the challenge of homeworking”, The Town Planning Review, vol. 92, no. 1, pp. 3-10.
Mahoney, D., Obure, R., Billingsley, K., Inks, M., Umurutasate, E. & Baer, R.D. 2020, “Evaluating Understandings of State and Federal Pandemic Policies: The Situation of Refugees from the Congo Wars in Tampa, Florida”, Human organization, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 271-280.
Nemec, J., Drechsler, W. &Hajnal, G. 2020, “Public Policy during COVID-19: Challenges for Public Administration and Policy Research in Central and Eastern Europe”, Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe.TheNISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 11-22.
Prasad, K.D.V., Vaidya, R.W. &Mangipudi, M.R. 2020, “Effect of occupational stress and remote working on psychological well-being of employees: an empirical analysis during covid-19 pandemic concerning information technology industry in hyderabad”, Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1-13.
Spence, N., Chau, V., Farvid, M.S., White, J., Rasalingam, P. & Loh, L. 2020, “The COVID-19 Pandemic: Informing Policy Decision-Making for a Vulnerable Population”, International Indigenous Policy Journal, vol. 11, no. 3.
Webb, A., McQuaid, R. & Rand, S. 2020, “Employment in the informal economy: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic”, The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40, no. 9, pp. 1005-1019.
Wynton, L. 2020, “WFH: THE NEW REALITY: THE JOURNAL OF THE HEALTH VISITORS’ ASSOCIATION”, Community Practitioner, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 41-43.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Risk assessment and security policy
| Risk | Mitigation plan |
| Data security | Usage of VPN, information encryption, firewall upgradation. |
| Resources unavailability | Bring your own device policy |
| Lack of integrity | High communication, Video conferencing |
| Time management | Strict deadline and task subdivision maintenance, proper communication |
(Source: Arntzet al. 2020)
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