Secure remote working: hardening your home network and devices
For anyone who works from home some or all of the time, and for team leads who answer their questions. Complete 'Working securely from home and on the move' first: it covers screens, public Wi-Fi, online meetings and reporting lost devices. This course goes deeper on the network at home: securing the router, keeping visitors and smart devices away from work devices, how the company VPN behaves at home and on a phone hotspot, what rules apply to personal devices used for work, and what to do when something at home looks compromised. It draws on US guidance (FTC and CISA) and UK guidance (NCSC). Only change equipment you own or are allowed to manage; if your router belongs to your ISP or landlord, or your work device is managed by IT, follow their instructions and your organization's policy.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 100 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Secure a home router: change the admin and Wi-Fi passwords, use WPA3 or WPA2, keep firmware updated, and turn off remote management, WPS and UPnP
- Separate work devices from visitors' and smart devices using a guest network and safe smart-device settings
- Explain how the company VPN and work-device controls behave at home, including captive portals and phone hotspots
- Identify the personal-device (BYOD) and household-sharing rules your organization sets and the reasons behind them
- Respond to a suspected home network or smart device compromise without making things worse
Course outline
- 1.Securing a home router: passwords, encryption, firmware and risky featuresLesson · 18 min
- 2.Separating work devices from visitors' and smart devicesLesson · 16 min
- 3.How the company VPN and work-device controls behave at homeLesson · 16 min
- 4.Personal devices and household sharing: the rules your organization sets and whyLesson · 14 min
- 5.Responding to a suspected home network or smart device compromiseLesson · 14 min
- 6.Secure remote working: hardening your home network and devices: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
- 7.Secure remote working: hardening your home network and devices: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- FTC Consumer Advice: How To Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network (December 2022)
- CISA: Home Network Security (security tip, February 2021, archived)
- CISA: Telework Guidance and Resources (archived)
- NCSC (UK): Smart devices: using them safely in your home (reviewed February 2024)
- NCSC (UK): Device security guidance, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
- NCSC (UK): Device security guidance, Bring your own device (BYOD)
- NCSC (UK): Device security guidance, Advising end users
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.