The Complete Remote Worker IT Checklist

The UK has one of the highest rates of home and hybrid working in the world, making remote IT security a priority for businesses of all sizes.

In 2025, the average UK graduate spent 1.8 days a week working from home, second only to Canada (1.9 days) and 50% more than the global average of 1.2 days. (Source: Stanford)

Almost three quarters of IT professionals globally report that remote work has had a beneficial impact on the performance of their IT departments (Source: Statista). By adopting some simple remote worker best practices, you can ensure that you see the benefits too.

In this remote worker checklist, we have put together 25 steps to follow that cover the essentials of remote worker IT setup and security across the following areas:

1. Secure access and 2FA
2. Device setup and hosted desktops
3. Internet connections and IP communications
4. Cyber security training and reporting
5. Data protection and GDPR
6. IT support and remote monitoring

Complete our 25-step remote and hybrid security checklist, and you’ll be all set to see maximum efficiency and productivity from your home-based and hybrid employees, without putting sensitive business data at risk.

A. Secure access and 2FA/MFA

Access control and authentication are your first lines of defence when it comes to preventing connections to sensitive data by unauthorised individuals.

1. Use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)

A VPN shields your connection against the wider internet. While 72% of UK professionals use a VPN on some of all of their devices, only 24% said that their employer requires this. (Source: Forbes)

2. Require 2FA (Two-factor authentication)

2FA adds a secondary authentication method, such as a one-time passcode or fingerprint/facial recognition, to the login process. Two thirds (67%) of UK consumers see this as a sign that you care about protecting personal data. (Source: Statista)

3. Consider MFA (Multi-factor authentication)

Even more security comes with a move to 3FA, 4FA or even 5FA. The market for MFA is growing 18% per year in the 2020s, with fastest growth in MFA-enabled password-less login. (Source: Allied Market Research)

4. Enforce access control

If you’re not confident enforcing access control, managed IT services can help. 18% of global businesses say identity and access management is a top 3 cyber security priority for their use of managed services. (Source: PwC)

5. Improve cyber security admin

This remote and hybrid security checklist should be your first step towards improving your cyber security admin overall. Just 6% of organisations feel confident about withstanding the full range of cyber attacks – with expert help, you can join them. (Source: PwC)

B. Device setup and hosted desktops

The devices your workers use can be a fundamental threat to remote IT security. Follow these remote worker best practices to reduce your risk from day one.

6. Require all devices to be encrypted

Mandatory data encryption is the hallmark of a comprehensive data protection policy. Among UK businesses with cyber security policies in place, 81% addressed the way data is stored and 80% controlled what employees are allowed to do on company IT devices. (Source: Statista)

7. Install security updates automatically

New threats emerge all the time. A policy to keep software updated can defend against novel cyber attacks. Nearly one in three (32%) UK businesses have a policy to apply software security patches within 14 days of availability. (Source: DSIT)

8. Consider secure remote data management

When buying software to store and access data remotely, prioritise security. Just 21% of UK businesses consider the security of new software “to a large extent” and 19% “to some extent”. Over a third (37%) just buy software from established companies – and 14% don’t factor cyber security into their software purchases at all. (Source: DSIT)

9. Keep comprehensive device logs

Automatic device logs should be a standard part of your remote worker IT setup, so you have a record of their activity for monitoring and compliance purposes. Yet less than half of UK businesses (45%) take action on logging and monitoring, compared with 90% of large UK firms. (Source: DSIT)

C. Internet connections and IP communications

The quality and reliability of internet connections is an often overlooked part of the remote worker checklist, yet it’s fundamental to enabling your employees to stay productive.

10. Adopt best practice communication platforms setup

IP PBX, also known as VoIP PBX, can allow remote workers to place telephone calls as if they were on-site. The National Cyber Security Centre advises encrypting these calls, restricting dialling patterns and keeping comprehensive logs of caller activity, as part of a long list of best practice for Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems. (Source: NCSC)

11. Make sure internet speeds are sufficient

The UK government says “decent broadband” is a download speed of at least 10 Mbps, enough to support HD video calls. 96% of rural properties have access to internet at these speeds. But only 56% can get 1 Gbps broadband, compared with 90% of urban households. (Source: Defra)

12. Establish secure file sharing protocols

One in eight (13%) British workers are now based exclusively at home, while a further 27% split their time between their home and workplace (Source: Statista). Secure file sharing allows them to collaborate on shared documents, a key aspect of remote IT security.

13. Provide remote access to admin and support

People who live in remote locations are more likely to work from home: 30% in urban areas, 34% in rural regions, and 43% in hamlets and isolated dwellings (Source: Defra). Adopting remote worker best practices should ensure that everyone has good access to IT support and admin.

D. Cyber security training and reporting

Two thirds of all fraud reported in the UK is now cyber fraud (Source: National Crime Agency). Proper training and reporting policies can protect your business against exposure to this risk.

14. Train all employees on cyber security basics

Don’t underestimate remote workers. Nearly two in five (39%) are early adopters of new innovations (Source: Statista). Cyber security training should cover the basics while accounting for all levels of existing tech knowledge and familiarity.

15. Protect against phishing and email scams

As of September 2025, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre had received over 46 million reports of phishing scams and had removed 232,000 scams from 415,000 URLs (Source: NCSC). Make phishing a main priority in your remote and hybrid security checklist.

16. Test employees on data handling basics

Fewer than a fifth (18%) of UK businesses test their employees on data security using methods like mock phishing exercises (Source: DSIT). Make sure you put your remote workers through their paces on a regular basis to see how they will respond to real-world phishing attempts.

17. Establish and enforce your reporting process

It’s essential to know when a breach occurs. Have a reporting policy in place and make sure you enforce it. Over three quarters (76%) of organisations inform senior management of detected data breaches, but less than half (47%) report breaches to their regulator when required to do so (Source: DSIT). Be sure to comply with your reporting requirements.

E. Data protection and GDPR

Data protection is a crucial component in any remote worker checklist. The number one cyber threat to the UK from serious and organised crime groups (SOC) is ransomware for financial gain. (Source: National Crime Agency)

18. All data hosted on secure servers

Access to secure servers puts data protection at the heart of remote worker IT setup. Secure cloud storage is one way to achieve this. Nearly one in three (32%) businesses globally rate cloud security in their top three reasons to use managed IT services, and 27% cite data protection and trust. (Source: PwC)

19. Sensitive info should be encrypted

Mandatory and automatic encryption of sensitive data can prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Among UK businesses with cyber security policies in place, 81% address secure data storage. (Source: Statista)

20. Set up automatic remote backups

Cloud backups can make remote workers’ files accessible from anywhere, ideal for hybrid working and to keep data under centralised control. This is one of the most widely used technologies on our remote worker checklist, with 71% of businesses already backing up data to a secure cloud server. (Source: DSIT)

21. Keep comprehensive access logs

24/7 logs of user access and activity ensure that you know if remote workers log on to your network at any time, from any location. Yet only 30% of businesses currently monitor their users (Source: DSIT), with 70% potentially missing instances of malicious or unsecure activity.

22. Compliance agreements

The Data Use and Access Act 2025 adds to existing legislation including GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (Source: ICO). Remote IT security needs to be compliant with all of these regulations, making it essential to work with a trusted managed IT services provider.

F. IT support and remote monitoring

Round-the-clock IT support and remote monitoring allow you to double-check your remote and hybrid security checklist on a regular basis and take action on any weaknesses.

23. Set up secure remote access tools

Just three in ten (30%) businesses use tools to monitor cyber security threats and breaches (Source: DSIT). Installing software that allows secure access to private network data should be a standard step in your remote worker IT setup, to avoid unnecessary exposure to risks from the public internet.

24. Configure automatic alerts for risks and issues

Real-time automated alerts for cyber attacks and data breaches allow you to respond quickly and avoid more serious ongoing impacts. But less than a quarter (24%) of businesses spend significantly more on proactive monitoring than reacting to breaches (Source: PwC). By adopting a more proactive balance in your cyber security spending, you can gain valuable peace of mind.

25. Regular reviews from a trusted professional team

External expertise can help you keep on top of emerging risks and ensure that your systems stay secure as your remote workforce grows. More than six in ten (62%) UK companies have an external cyber security provider, but less than half (48%) of small businesses conduct cyber security risk assessments (Source: DSIT). Make sure you are one of the protected.

Get your remote worker cyber health check

Every step on our remote worker checklist is there to keep your valuable business data safe, to avoid leaking unencrypted files to the public internet, and to comply with data protection regulations – protecting your organisation from costly enforcement action.

Contact Venom IT today to schedule your cyber health check, where we can review your existing policies and recommend remote worker best practices to keep you and your workforce safe from cyber threats both now and in the future.