20 Free Cybersecurity Tools To Keep You Safe When Working From Home

From virtual firewalls and VPNs to endpoint and web protection to threat intelligence and incident response services, here’s a look at the free cybersecurity tools users can access while working from home.

Securing The Home Office

The surge in employees working from home over the past month as the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold has created a major need for access control tools that provide workers with a way to get into highly sensitive databases and systems remotely. In response, many cybersecurity vendors have made their VPN (virtual private network) or VPN alternatives available to existing or prospective customers for free.

Organizations face new threats as adversaries leverage COVID-19 for social engineering purposes in phishing or other highly targeted attacks, often going after essential firms like hospitals, financial institutions, universities and government agencies. For this reason, some vendors have made free versions of their offerings available to businesses or employees in a particular vertical that’s under siege.

Some cybersecurity vendors have therefore focused on making threat intelligence, incident response and remediation services available at no cost to organizations in the most affected verticals. Others, meanwhile, have focused on unlocking free access to traditional cybersecurity products such as virtual firewalls, firewall rule changes, and endpoint protection for SaaS and cloud environments.

Here’s a look at 20 free cybersecurity tools that users and organizations can access while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Authoriti Vendor Payments Fraud Protection Service

The Authoriti vendor payment fraud protection service safeguards against business email compromise, in which adversaries hack into insecure communications and redirect legitimate vendor payments into their own accounts and/or submit phony invoices. Authoriti on March 25 made the service available at no cost to state and local governments effective immediately.

The service allows finance departments to easily validate an invoice before making payments and confirm that any changes to payment instructions are authorized, according to Authoriti. It can be deployed as a hosted service and smartphone app within minutes, making it highly scalable, Authoriti said.

With the vendor payment fraud protection service, government officials simply provide a Permission Code smart PIN embedded with the vendors’ identity and details of the transaction to authorize the desired transaction. Upon receipt, the paying agent makes a call to Authoriti, which validates that the correct vendor generated the code and that the transaction details are authorized for execution.

Banyan Security Zero Trust Remote Access

Banyan Security is offering free usage of its Zero Trust Remote Access platform to new customers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to help them improve worker productivity and eliminate frustrations associated with VPNs. The Banyan platform enables workers and third parties to remotely access on-premises, hybrid and multi-cloud applications, and servers without the need to use VPNs.

The coronavirus outbreak has forced many companies to implement remote offerings for up to 90 percent of their workforce, according to Banyan. This has led to challenges such as troubleshooting and replacing VPNs ill-equipped to deal with increases in remote traffic, slow and dropped VPN connections, and the need to secure remote workers, third parties and BYOD devices, Banyan said.

Banyan’s Zero Trust Remote Access platform allows businesses to ensure their architecture scales easily to accommodate the growing remote workforce, according to the company. The company said on March 23 it’s offering free usage of its platform for a limited time.

BitDam ATP For Teams And Zoom

BitDam’s Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) offering began supporting Microsoft Teams and Zoom on April 1 to help organizations collaborate safely when working from home. The company accelerated the release of this offering due to the coronavirus pandemic and is offering businesses a three-month free trial of its protection for Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

The world’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has led to an exponential increase in people working from home, resulting in increased cybersecurity risk around videoconferencing and messaging, BitDam said. Users and businesses are exposed when utilizing these collaboration platforms since there are few tools that can provide security for them, according to BitDam.

BitDam ATP for Teams and Zoom is seamless for end users and provides protection from malicious files and links of any type; quarantining for malicious files; and a five-minute deployment to the entire firm. The offering scans all files and links to proactively detect attacks predelivery, preventing hardware and logical exploits, ransomware, phishing and zero-day attacks contained in files and URLs, BitDam said.

BitSight Work From Home–Remote Office

BitSight Work From Home–Remote Office helps organizations identify and remediate security issues resulting from the exponential increase in employees working from home due to the coronavirus. With the offering, BitSight said organizations can discover security concerns evident in remote offices and networks, reducing risk that their networks and data will be compromised.

The tool helps security teams identify vulnerabilities and infections on IP address known to be associated with remote operating environments, BitSight said. BitSight Work From Home–Remote Office was unveiled April 6 and is initially available free to BitSight customers for a period of time, the company said.

Customers can use BitSight Work From Home–Remote Office to discover security issues, more closely monitor and manage higher-risk remote operating environments—such as privileged users or users with access to sensitive data—and provide greater education for end users. The tool harnesses the full power of BitSight’s platform to manage and mitigate risk in this new work environment.

BlackBerry Secure Communication Offerings

BlackBerry has made four of its secure communications products available to customers free of charge for a 60-day period to help support business continuity plans and remote work policies during the coronavirus pandemic by enabling a secure, productive and connected environment for workers. This includes quick on-boarding and enablement that can be delivered remotely with BlackBerry’s services.

The mission-critical tools include BlackBerry Desktop, which makes it easy for companies to provide secure remote access to personal laptops, desktops, mobile or tablet devices, the company said. BlackBerry Protect, meanwhile, offers advanced endpoint protection using artificial intelligence to prevent breaches and provides added controls for safeguarding against sophisticated threats.

SecuSuite for Government enables high-security voice and messaging across iOS and Android environments so government bodies can enable workers to continue with activities that require the highest level of security. And BlackBerry AtHoc allows organizations to unify their crisis communications, giving leadership the information they need to make critical safety decisions.

Breach Clarity Premium For Financial Services

Breach Clarity Premium for Financial Services identifies and analyzes specific data breaches impacting financial institutions, factoring in the types of personally identifiable information (PII) exposed in any particular breach to predict the types of identity fraud risk it creates. The platform generates recommendations that facilitate targeted, effective action to protect against potential financial losses.

The country’s largest-ever pool of remote workers presents cybercriminals with new opportunities around tenuous at-home information security practices, the company said. As a result, Breach Clarity said April 2 that it’s waiving per-user costs for the product for six months, making it free to financial institutions.

Breach Clarity has also fast-tracked a streamlined version of Premium called Premium Now that radically simplifies and shortens implementation. This will enable financial institutions to give customers information about data breaches in which their information was compromised, as well as specific threats from each of those breaches and information about the recommended actions for any breach.

Check Point ZoneAlarm Web Secure Free

Check Point Software Technologies’ ZoneAlarm Web Secure Free gives users 100 percent free protection against phishing attacks, malicious downloads and dangerous websites. It is an advanced extension for Google Chrome that provides free essential browsing security tools to keep users safe from multiple threats while they search and browse the web.

The tool protects users’ credentials against phishing attackers by using ZoneAlarm Zero-Phishing Technology, which scans all websites before allowing users to insert any personal information while also alerting them to any attempts to steal personal data. ZoneAlarm Web Secure Free comes free with any of ZoneAlarm’s free security packs, including ZoneAlarm Free FireWall and ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus.

The tool also utilizes ZoneAlarm’s Threat Extraction technology so users can safely download emailed or web-downloaded documents. Threat Extraction automatically removes any suspect or malicious code from documents in seconds, ensuring that the extracted file is completely safe without disrupting what the user is doing.

DxOdyssey Work From Home

DH2i will be offering its DxOdyssey networking software completely free until Aug. 31 to anyone seeking to access applications and information on their work computer from home. Employees asked to work from home oftentimes need to access applications and data residing on the company network but lack remote access tools such as a VPN to access those resources on the network.

DxOdyssey Work from Home is an easy, free, secure way for users to gain access to their work computer from home for organizations lacking the budget or technical expertise to set up an alternate approach. The product provides an ideal alternative to avoid the inherent security risks of VPNs, such as their potentially opening the door for unauthorized access to business and/or personal/home networks.

Employees can download their free copy of DxOdyssey Work from Home without having to provide any personal information, which ensures that no sales communications will result during or after the download and use of the software. DH2i’s sales team will be available at no charge during West Coast business hours to answer questions and provide assistance around downloading and using the software.

HighSide Ultra Secure Collaboration

The flagship HighSide Ultra Secure Collaboration tool will be provided free to any organization until at least Sept. 1 to make their transition to remote work secure s a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The platform looks and functions like tools employees want to use, but incorporates the security and compliance functionality required by the C-suite and regulators, according to HighSide.

HighSide said companies need a secure and compliant alternative in short order, especially across the financial, health-care, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors.

HighSide said it can change the risk level immediately for any organization, especially one with sensitive data that is subject to regulation and sought after by hackers, cyberthieves and nation-state attackers. The company’s offerings are very lightweight and scalable and avoid putting any pressure on IT infrastructure, according to HighSide.

Kaspersky Endpoint Security Products

Kaspersky March 23 announced free availability of its core endpoint security products for medical organizations to help them stay protected during the coronavirus pandemic. The products available for free for six months include Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud Plus; Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Office 365; Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business Advanced; and Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security.

Continuity of operations and data protection is critical for health-care organizations as they face extreme pressure to mobilize all their forces to help people, Kaspersky said. For hospitals and medical institutions, it is important to ensure the stability of medical equipment and that data is constantly available for medical personnel while also protecting the privacy of their patients’ critical information.

To help medical organizations cope with this unprecedented pressure and relieve cybersecurity risks that may arise, Kaspersky said it’s now making its B2B products available for free. This includes endpoint and cloud infrastructure protection products, SaaS endpoint protection, and protection for Microsoft Office 365, according to the company.

Lucy Security WorkfromHome

Lucy Security on March 25 launched its free, open educational platform WorkfromHome to provide professional videos, courses, checklists, quizzes and other teaching materials at no cost on safer ways to work from home. The company said it had seen a tenfold increase in phishing email since early March as bad actors take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to prey on distracted and unprepared workers.

The company’s new WorkfromHome platform helps employees identify phishing emails, addresses common bring-your-own-device issues such as security, privacy and data protection, and problem solves technical challenges around connecting to the internet. The platform also addresses new coronavirus-based phishing scams.

Many companies have put in place the infrastructure to work remotely, but Lucy Security said employees are still unsure how to use private tools, public tools and utilities. Research shows that 97 percent of successful attacks involve some form of social engineering, and more than 90 percent start with a phishing email, according to Lucy Security.

ManageEngine Secure Remote Access Toolkit

ManageEngine has bundled Access Manager Plus and Remote Access Plus to provide seamless and secure connections to employee desktops, servers, databases and network devices from the comfort of employees’ homes. The bundle has been made available to IT teams everywhere free of charge until July 1.

Organizations quickly moved to remote work with the help of cloud applications, but some important functions like IT need access to critical systems in the infrastructure like servers, applications, databases, and network devices, ManageEngine said. ManageEngine said its tools help organizations build multiple layers of security to enable remote access to critical systems.

The bundling of these existing tools was a direct result of mandatory remote work requirements, as ManageEngine’s own IT teams were tasked with creating a secure working environment internally. The company was able to implement a mandatory remote work policy for its more than 8,000 employees across 10 countries in just 24 hours by leveraging its own technology.

NetScout Cyber Threat Horizon

The free NetScout Cyber Threat Horizon threat intelligence portal offers network and security operators greater visibility into Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in real time. Cyber Threat Horizon collects, analyzes, prioritizes and disseminates data on past and emerging DDoS threats across the internet.

This macro view gives users contextual awareness of the DDoS attacks that could impact their company and allows them to gain unique insight into DDoS attack trends to provide the situational awareness they need to assess risk and prepare for cyberattacks. The product gives organizations the ability to gain situational awareness of DDoS attacks and put protection in place before remote access is implemented.

Now more than ever, NetScout said critical infrastructure such as internet circuits, routers, VPN gateways and firewalls must remain available to ensure remote access to internal resources and services. But DDoS attacks pose a significant threat to the availability of this critical infrastructure and services, according to NetScout.

NordVPN

Universities and other educational institutions around the world have had to move their courses, exams and even thesis and dissertation defenses online, NordVPN said. The company said it wants to support university employees facing lockdowns and other restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and provide them with digital security by offering free services for six months.

Even though moving studies online is an applaudable move, NordVPN said cybersecurity must remain a top priority since criminals are doing their best to use the situation to scam vulnerable people. The signature NordVPN product effectively grants employees working from home encrypted access to servers, systems and databases that otherwise could only be accessed at an office.

NordPass generates strong and unique passwords and keeps them in a secure vault, making it possible for passwords and notes to be securely shared among colleagues and students. And NordLocker encrypts all types of files on a computer and in the cloud, keeping work confidential while allowing for safe sharing with colleagues and students.

NTT Ltd. Cybersecurity Incident Response Support

Hospitals around the world are coming under repeated attack during the coronavirus pandemic, including ransomware, malware and the attempted theft of criminal medical records. In response, NTT Ltd. said it’s deploying security consultants to offer incident response and remediation services at no cost to hospitals in North America, Europe, the U.K., Ireland, Australia and Singapore.

Eligible hospitals will receive up to 40 hours of incident response remediation services at no cost, NTT Ltd. said. NTT said its cybersecurity consultants will work with hospitals to understand the nature of the security breach and how the company can help hospitals in addressing it. This free offer was first made on April 7, and will be available for 60 days, the company said.

Services typically include the remote deployment of NTT’s incident response tools and a focus on containment and remediation of the attack, the company said. The consultants will focus on stopping the attack; rating or prioritizing the incident; and remediating and restoring the services. The free offering excludes digital forensics work, NTT Ltd said.

Sophos Products

Sophos Home Premium has been opened to all customers for free to protect their employees’ personal PCs and Macs they might be working on from home, said Kendra Krause, senior vice president of global channels and sales operations. It gives employees the same business-grade protection that commercial customers already enjoy, providing added security and peace of mind when working remotely.

Sophos is extending free trials of Sophos Virtual Firewall to protect remote workforces, and also is providing optimized VPN configurations on Sophos firewalls to enhance scale and usability for remote workforces, Krause said. Anyone who needs to set up IPsec or SSL VPN connections for secure remote access can now use the XG Firewall free trial for 90 days, according to Sophos.

The XG Firewall can be deploying in an organization’s preferred virtual environment, including VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Hyper-V, and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine for Linux), according to Sophos. Sophos’ professional services team is also available to help organizations configure VPNs and XG Firewall to safeguard remote workers, Krause said.

Splunk Remote Work Insights

Splunk Remote Work Insights helps IT and security teams keep their organizations running while working from home, the company said. Remote Work Insights is a no-cost tool that allows for faster resolutions of problems such as a Zoom conference call dropping or being logged in and out of Microsoft 365.

The offering delivers real-time visibility across multiple disparate systems such as VPN, Microsoft 365, Zoom and Okta, and helps customers with a toolkit that can help maintain employee productivity and high performance of critical business activities, Splunk said. Remote Work Insights includes an executive dashboard for a holistic view of remote work metrics both around real-time use and trends over time.

The executive dashboard looks at VPN usage as an indicator of connectivity, which applications are most frequently accessed via Okta to provide a sense of business continuity, and whether employees are continuing to spend time together via Zoom video conferencing. The dashboard can help firms monitor their remote workforce and answer questions about connectivity, productivity and engagement.

Sumo Logic Work-From-Home

Remote access, VPN, endpoint security and SaaS tools are the lifeblood for enterprises to keep employees engaged and productive while they work from home to maintain social distancing and safety. Sumo Logic’s new Work-From-Home offering helps IT and security teams ensure the visibility, reliability and security of mission-critical business apps, the company said.

The bundled offering includes a number of existing Sumo Logic and partner apps in the single sign-on, remote access, endpoint security and productivity app spaces, the company said. The Work-From-Home offering is available as a 90-day free trial through Sumo Logic’s partner ecosystem, and will include customer support to help set up and optimize within any enterprise environment, the company said.

And to support schools and colleges and keep their online environments up and running, Sumo Logic is offering its cloud-based continuous intelligence platform for free to enable IT teams to provide disruption-free learning to children globally. The platform can natively ingest, index and analyze structured and unstructured data together in real-time, according to Sumo Logic.

Trinity Cyber Proactive Threat Interference

Trinity Cyber’s fully managed Proactive Threat Interference service stages and examines internet traffic to prevent attacks in real time before they reach a customer’s network. The company also provides a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) that augments an organization’s existing cybersecurity team, allowing critical operations to be secured and teams to prioritize the challenges before them.

Proactive Threat Interference is being offered on a complimentary basis for 90 days to any qualifying organization that requests assistance, Trinity Cyber said. As the world responds to the coronavirus pandemic, cybercriminals and nation-states are increasingly targeting remote workforces and critical information systems seeking to exploit the uncertainty and fear surrounding the crisis.

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting hospitals, businesses and remote workforces, according to Trinity Cyber. Like so many that are converting their business operations to help respond to the crisis, Trinity Cyber is delivering its security services to ensure businesses and critical information systems are protected from cyberattacks.

Tufin Firewall Change Tracker

The free Tufin Firewall Change Tracker delivers real-time visibility into firewall rule changes for organizations of all sizes, enabling security teams to view multivendor firewall changes in real time. This makes it possible to centrally monitor what was changed by whom, when and why—regardless of whether the firewall is physical, virtual, in the cloud or on-premise.

The tracker provides centralized visibility into changes across firewall vendors, allowing organizations to view all multivendor devices from a single dashboard. The Firewall Change Tracker also offers easy detection and the ability to troubleshoot misconfigurations and security issues by comparing different change revisions.

The recent spike in remote work is putting unprecedented strain on organizations’ network and security teams due to the surge in new access requests from remote employees, Tufin said. The increase in requests that IT and security managers must contend with translates into an increased scale of firewall rule changes across their data centers and cloud, according to Tufin.