While many of us are quite satisfied with losing out on the rush hour commute to work, we’ve unknowingly swapped it out for another overcrowded space: the home network. When you’re at home trying to get on with your work, you’re likely competing for network bandwidth with (select all that apply), flatmates filling the social distance void with Zoom quizzes, kids assuming the role of digital students, and partners also working from home or streaming the latest Netflix craze.
All of this creates a network bottleneck and, as home networks are unmanaged, potentially puts you in close proximity to malware. We all know that these pesky bugs don’t respect boundaries, so one bug on your work device could disrupt the entire organization. We all have enough to deal with right now; another bug just won’t cut it. So, what can you do about a congested home network?
The answer lies in emulating what the entire world is currently doing: distancing. We know, we know, enough with the distancing already! But, it pays off, right? In this instance, we’re talking about distancing your work traffic from your non-work traffic on your home network to limit the chance of malware infection.
Network segmentation is the division of a network into smaller parts to better manage communication and security. It allows you to separate work from non-work traffic so everyone in your household can get on with whatever digital fun gets them through this period of social distancing.
Need help setting up network segmentation at home? I have laid out some handy tips for DIY home network segmentation in the video below. Happy digital distancing!