How Much Internet Speed Do You Need to Work From Home Securely?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid shift to remote work for many organizations. But working from home comes with cybersecurity challenges that require a thoughtful approach to internet connectivity. Unreliable connections and slow speeds don‘t just hurt productivity – they can also put sensitive business data at risk. Here‘s what you need to know to work from home securely.

Assessing Speed Requirements

Bandwidth requirements for remote work depend on the number of connected devices and the type of work being done. Video conferencing, cloud-based applications, VoIP, and accessing VPNs all consume significant bandwidth.

Here are some general guidelines for minimum speeds per connected household member:

For example, a household with two adults working from home who regularly participate in video calls and need to transfer large files, plus two children engaged in online learning would want an internet plan providing at least 150-200 Mbps download speeds and 30-50 Mbps upload speeds for an optimal experience.

It‘s important to note that these are minimums – for the smoothest, most responsive experience, especially for latency-sensitive activities like video conferencing, even higher speeds are beneficial. Many remote workers opt for gigabit plans when available.

Upload Speeds and Cloud-Based Work

Adequate upload speed is critical for remote work, especially for cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox, etc. Slow upload speeds can make file syncing and cloud backups take much longer.

The move to cloud-hosted VoIP systems also demands good upload bandwidth. According to Microsoft, Teams calls require 1.2 Mbps up/down for peer-to-peer quality video and 1.5 Mbps up/down for HD group video calling.

For these reasons, fiber optic internet with its symmetrical download/upload speeds is ideal for remote work. Cable internet plans often have much slower upload speeds than download. If fiber isn‘t available, look for cable plans with a minimum of 10-25 Mbps upload speed per household member.

Security Implications of Remote Connections

From a cybersecurity standpoint, remote workers connecting to company networks and cloud services over the public internet expand the attack surface. Home networks and personal devices tend to be less secure than corporate environments.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are essential for encrypting traffic and enabling secure remote access. However, VPNs can also reduce internet speeds, sometimes significantly. In a recent test, NordVPN, one of the leading VPN providers, reduced download speed by 53% on average.

To offset this speed loss, remote workers may need to provision even more bandwidth. Applying Quality of Service (QoS) settings on routers to prioritize VPN traffic can also help.

Another issue is that company-issued devices and BYOD devices often share the same home internet connection. This can expose work devices to threats from compromised personal devices on the network.

Segmenting work and personal traffic using a VLAN can mitigate this risk. Some newer Wi-Fi routers support multiple SSIDs which can also keep work and home devices separated.

IT teams should provide guidance to remote workers on hardening home networks, such as:

• Changing default router login credentials
• Using WPA2/WPA3 encryption for Wi-Fi
• Keeping router firmware updated
• Enabling router firewall
• Configuring DNS to block malicious domains

Monitoring tools that provide network traffic visibility are also valuable for detecting suspicious activity on remote connections. Setting up automated alerts can help spot issues like malware communicating with C2 servers over worker‘s home connections.

Planning for Outages

For all the benefits of remote work, relying on residential internet means potentially dealing with outages that can bring productivity to a halt. Home internet tends to have more last-mile redundancy than business fiber connectivity.

Where feasible, organizations should equip critical remote staff with backup connectivity, such as mobile hotspots. SD-WAN appliances can also intelligently route traffic over multiple links.

At minimum, remote workers should have a plan for tethering laptops to mobile devices in the event of an outage. Documenting this process and testing it regularly is a cybersecurity best practice.

The Need for Speed in the New Workplace

The world has changed and fast, reliable internet connectivity at home is now essential for many jobs. The average broadband speed in the US was around 100 Mbps in 2020 according to Ookla – an 80% increase from 2017 averages but still well short of gigabit speeds.

Fortunately, gigabit fiber and cable options are expanding and next-gen Wi-Fi 6 routers can deliver speeds to multiple devices much faster. 5G home internet also shows promise in providing fiber-like speeds wirelessly.

However, raw speed is not enough for secure remote work. Encrypted tunnels, network segmentation, threat monitoring, and fallback connectivity are all part of the equation.

The organizations that will thrive in the new normal will be those that approach remote connectivity and security holistically, giving remote workers the tools and guidance to work from home both productively and securely for the long haul.