By 2026, working from home, fully remote, and hybrid setups have become super common for remote employees. But this shift has brought new challenges, especially for security teams. Insider threats, where someone inside a company causes harm (accidentally or intentionally), have jumped 58% since remote work started. On top of that, 92% of IT experts say cybersecurity problems have gotten worse with remote and hybrid work. Phishing, where hackers trick people into giving up personal info, is the reason for 43% of remote hacking attempts, and mistakes made when setting up cloud systems are behind 17% of problems. Addressing these issues and understanding how to prevent data breaches in a remote work environment is becoming a top priority for businesses. (Remote Work Cybersecurity Statistics, ElectroIQ, 2026)
Recognizing the limitations of relying solely on physical security controls to prevent data breaches, EPAM has developed "Remote Safely." It is a malware-detection software solution designed to address emerging cybersecurity challenges associated with widespread remote work. "Remote Safely" provides a robust safeguard against data breach attacks in the form of unauthorized observation and data capture, reinforcing data protection measures without strict physical controls.
Data Breaches Through Low-Tech Physical Attacks
While statistics on visual hacking incidents may be limited, disregarding data breach risks would be unwise. Difficulties in attributing data leaks to visual hacking, along with the demonstrated high success rate of such attacks in experiments, make it evident that addressing these vulnerabilities should not be overlooked, particularly for companies entrusted with sensitive data.
Data breaches happen, for example, when someone unauthorized gains visual access to sensitive information and steals it by taking a photo with their smartphone. Just one such security incident can have far-reaching consequences, including substantial financial losses, regulatory penalties, customer attrition, damage to brand reputation, and the possibility of legal actions against the companies involved.
This is why it is crucial to recognize the importance of addressing physical security threats and not underestimating their potential impact.
How Does "Remote Safely" Prevent Data Breach?
Data breaches through low-tech physical attacks remain a concern, exacerbated by remote vulnerabilities; the average annual cost of insider incidents hit $17.4 million in 2025 (rising to $19.5 million per recent reports), with negligence driving $10.3 million of that total. EPAM's "Remote Safely" addresses these by monitoring endpoints and user behavior remotely. (GlobeNewswire Press Release, 2026)
"Remote Safely" focuses on data leak detection and the prevention of security risks originating from the physical environment, particularly those carried out through low-tech means, e.g., visual hacking. It offers digital alternatives to traditional security controls that can easily be used to harden the physical security of any environment and prevent data breach incidents. "Remote Safely" relies on computer vision and cloud computing technologies to deliver continuous identity verification and identify potentially dangerous events.
It detects situations such as:
- An unlocked screen when a worker is away
Remote Safely warning type: No person found
- The presence of an unauthorized person in front of the screen
Remote Safely warning type: Multiple persons
- Attempts to take photos of the screen using the camera on a smartphone
Remote Safely warning type: Phone
"Remote Safely" features ensure that potential security breaches are promptly identified, and appropriate actions can be taken to mitigate the risks.
From a technical standpoint, "Remote Safely" consists of a desktop service application that captures webcam photos of the area in front of a remote worker's screen, and a cloud-based AI infrastructure that analyzes these images for potential malicious activity. If anomalies are detected, alerts are generated, and proactive measures, such as locking or blocking the desktop, are taken to prevent data leaks. Also, the solution can block screen capture and screen sharing attempts, effectively preventing the inadvertent or intentional disclosure of sensitive corporate data.
How Remote Safely works
7 Key Benefits of "Remote Safely"
"Remote Safely" is designed to meet the needs of businesses across various industries that process confidential information, including corporate or client data. Here are some key benefits the solution provides:
1. Robust Data Protection
"Remote Safely" establishes a strong defense against data breaches, ensuring the security of sensitive information and safeguarding a company's reputation.
2. Alignment with Zero Trust Approach
"Remote Safely" complements the Zero Trust approach to cybersecurity by providing continuous user authentication and advanced access control measures based on user behavior and external risk factors. This strengthens overall security and aligns with modern security frameworks.
3. Seamless Transition to Remote Work
The solution facilitates a smooth and effortless transition to remote work, regardless of the physical location, enabling fully remote teams to collaborate securely while maintaining data confidentiality.
4. Simplified Regulatory Compliance
"Remote Safely" simplifies the complex task of regulatory compliance by offering features that ensure adherence to data protection regulations. This reduces the risk of penalties or legal issues arising from non-compliance.
5. Cost Reduction
By eliminating the need for extensive on-premise physical security measures, "Remote Safely" helps businesses decrease costs associated with maintaining secure physical environments, such as surveillance systems, security personnel, and access control mechanisms.
6. Resilience to Disasters and Emergency Events
"Remote Safely" ensures uninterrupted operations during disasters by enabling secure remote access to systems and applications, allowing organizations to activate their remote workforce and maintain productivity. It also enhances data security, communication, and compliance measures, enabling organizations to respond rapidly, protect employee safety, and recover efficiently during emergency events.
7. Enhanced Customer Trust
The commitment to data protection through "Remote Safely" enhances customer trust. Demonstrating a dedication to maintaining the highest standards of data security fosters stronger relationships with clients and solidifies the company's reputation as a trusted custodian of sensitive information.
Zero Trust approach
"Remote Safely" Case Studies
In the numerous success stories from various industries and company sizes, there is one common thread: a firm dedication to upholding and implementing best practices in data security.
1. Airline Industry
A notable airline company faced the challenge of processing highly sensitive customer data by remote staff. To address this, they introduced "Remote Safely," which seamlessly integrates with their network infrastructure. This integration enabled them to ensure that physical security risks are successfully mitigated when accessing protected resources on the client's network.
2. Financial Analytics and Business Intelligence
A multinational financial services company needed many remote workers in a fully remote setup to process sensitive data, previously handled only in on-site secure rooms. To solve this challenge, they set up "Remote Safely" to function within their Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, and workers used it to access the client's environment. This enabled them to enforce security policies while working remotely on the client's critical data and to effectively mitigate physical security risks. As a result, the company improved security measures during work-from-home and eliminated the need for all staff to be physically present on-site.
3. Banking Industry
A major US bank uses "Remote Safely" to strengthen physical security and mitigate data leak risk in work-from-home setups. This enables employees working from home to operate under digital monitoring through "Remote Safely" when accessing sensitive information, ensuring a secure remote working experience. As a result, the bank can maintain high levels of security while embracing the flexibility and efficiency of remote work practices.
5 Key Customization Options for "Remote Safely"
"Remote Safely" offers various customization options to meet a customer's specific needs and constraints. Here are the most common ones:
1. Monitoring and Response Type
Customers have the flexibility to set up the system behavior according to the monitoring and response type they prefer:
-
Manual: A trained security team proactively monitors anomalies, interacts with remote agents, and takes preventive measures to mitigate data breaches.
-
Semi-automatic: Monitoring involves personnel oversight, and certain events are automatically resolved to minimize continuous human intervention.
-
Fully automatic: AI monitoring autonomously detects potentially risky events and implements preventive measures before the data breach occurs. This customization type offers numerous benefits, including cost savings on operational labor, reduced concerns about data privacy from employees and regulators due to minimal personal data stored, and limited access to sensitive data for a smaller group.
With these monitoring options, clients can customize the process to align with their business needs.
2. Anomalies to Detect
Customers can select the specific anomalies to detect and define custom rules for risk mitigation and alerting. For instance, they can set up a rule that automatically locks the employee's desktop if it is left unlocked while the employee is away. Another option is to block the employee's desktop and notify their manager if the system detects an unauthorized person at the keyboard.
Furthermore, such rules may include thresholds. For example, you can specify the duration of an event or the number of events within a specified period as a threshold. In this case, the action will be triggered only when the threshold is reached.
Remote Safely: Defining rules
3. Data Processing
"Remote Safely" offers customization options to adapt to and comply with the data protection regulations of various countries and the unique business rules governing personal data processing. For instance, clients can specify the scope of personal data retained and set the timeframe for its deletion.
4. Monitoring Activation
With "Remote Safely" it is possible to define the conditions for the monitoring activation. It can be configured to:
-
Run on the workstation continuously
-
Start automatically whenever the employee commits access to the protected data
-
Started manually by the employees themselves or by the system operator as a precondition to gaining access to sensitive data
5. Hardware Configuration
"Remote Safely" can be customized to align with the endpoint hardware configuration of remote workers. For example, customers can specify whether employees may use external monitors or whether only laptop screens are permitted as the designated display device.
Wide-Angle Cameras Overcoming Limitations Of the Standard Web Cameras
Although the default configuration of "Remote Safely," which uses a built-in camera, meets the needs of most customers, some seek to minimize the risk of overlooking security incidents that could go unnoticed due to the limited visibility of standard built-in web cameras.
In response to this, a custom wide-angle camera was created that offers a 180-degree field of view. It is securely mounted on the display device, preventing any attempts to remove it without violating the monitoring process. This ensures that an attacker cannot deceive the system by placing the camera outside the designated workspace.
The wide-angle camera provides a wider field of view
"Remote Safely" Delivery Options
EPAM can deliver "Remote Safely" in two ways:
-
As a cloud service, EPAM manages the monitoring process and acts as the data processor
-
On the client's premises, where the client is responsible for managing their own monitoring process without involving data processors
Regardless of the chosen delivery option, EPAM offers extensive technical support and can fulfill client requests for custom developments and integrations.
Smooth and Efficient Delivery Process
The delivery process of "Remote Safely" typically takes 1–2 months, depending on client requirements and custom development needs.
It begins with gathering business requirements and evaluating the client's existing network security architecture. EPAM then works closely with the client to seamlessly integrate "Remote Safely" into their infrastructure, making necessary modifications to their corporate network.
Once integrated, EPAM assists with system configuration according to the client's needs and provides comprehensive training for administrators and monitored individuals. The goal is to ensure that clients are well-equipped to maintain the system and understand the monitoring process.
Integration Capabilities
"Remote Safely" can be integrated with several popular tools and services. For example, it can transmit event data to the Splunk service for in-depth analysis and further exploration. "Remote Safely" can also provide monitoring state data to popular VPN clients, including Palo Alto GlobalProtect, and to other security agents installed on the workstation, enabling them to conduct workstation security posture checks before granting network access to a protected resource.
In addition, EPAM offers the flexibility to customize integration with any other customer's software, including Security Incidents and Events, Reporting, and Identity Management Systems.
Data Protection Compliance in 5 Steps
"Remote Safely" ensures compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR by:
-
Integrating privacy considerations into its design
-
Implementing robust data security measures
-
Obtaining user consent
-
Adhering to data retention policies
-
Maintaining transparent privacy policies
This ensures effective protection of user data and compliance with regulatory requirements. Furthermore, "Remote Safely" guarantees the security and trustworthiness of its platform through regular, comprehensive audits, including ISO 27701 (PIMS), SOC 2, and SOC 3.
Remote Safely audits are performed on regular basis
Employees' Data Privacy Concerns
Monitoring solutions often struggle to balance effective monitoring with privacy concerns. Employees frequently express discomfort with continuous monitoring through a camera, as well as the storage and utilization of their personal data. Therefore, finding the right balance between achieving desired monitoring outcomes and respecting privacy is crucial to foster trust.
While developing "Remote Safely," EPAM has invested significant time and resources in finding the optimal solution that ensures sufficient monitoring data for effective risk mitigation while respecting employee privacy and fulfilling customer needs in relation to country-specific data protection laws.
Final Thought: Development Plans
The focus is on using advanced AI technologies to enhance anomaly detection, including heuristic-based risk-likelihood calculations. Robust features are being developed to automate risk prevention, reporting, and alerting. Integrations with external tools, such as HR employee record systems, reporting tools, Zero Trust network, and data loss prevention (DLP) solutions, are also being expanded. Also, device validation capabilities will be introduced, along with advanced security measures to maintain control over user access to remote virtual desktops based on "Remote Safely" monitoring status on the user's endpoint.
Regular monitoring of market trends and client feedback informs the "Remote Safely" roadmap, driving updates and new features that ensure innovation and meet evolving user needs in preventing data breaches.
FAQs
How can remote teams maintain productivity and security simultaneously?
Remote teams can maintain high employee productivity in a secure remote work environment by pairing strong access controls with collaboration tools that support encrypted document sharing and protected logins. When leaders define clear processes for critical tasks and structure work hours around flexible work arrangements, team members can complete tasks efficiently without exposing sensitive data.
What role does project management play in preventing data breaches?
Project management helps define who should access which systems and files, which is essential for preventing data breaches in a distributed workforce. By mapping permissions to roles, enforcing secure workflows for critical tasks, and using audit trails in collaboration tools, the entire organization reduces the risk of accidental data exposure.
How does remote work impact employee performance and work-life balance in a secure remote work environment?
Flexible hours and reduced commuting can lead to better work-life balance and higher job satisfaction for many employees, as long as expectations and outcomes are clearly defined. When security controls run in the background of the remote work setup, employees can focus on their work productively while organizations still meet compliance and data protection requirements.
What practices help maintain a strong remote culture in hybrid and distributed teams?
To keep a strong sense of remote culture, hybrid teams need regular video calls and structured team meetings that mimic some benefits of in-person interaction while still supporting flexible work arrangements. Clear norms around effective communication, use of collaboration tools, and shared security practices help team members stay connected and aligned even when they rarely come into the office.
Are co-working spaces safe for a secure remote work environment involving sensitive data?
Co-working spaces can be part of a secure distributed workplace if the remote work setup includes encrypted connections, strong endpoint protection, and policies that limit who can view sensitive information on screen. Companies should train employees on how to prevent data breaches in shared locations, including using privacy screens, locking devices when away, and avoiding unsecured Wi‑Fi.
How can leadership style influence secure remote work and employee productivity?
A leadership style that emphasizes accountability and clear security expectations helps many businesses maintain high employee performance in remote work opportunities. When leaders model secure behavior and communicate why controls matter, they foster transparency and encourage the vast majority of staff to see security as part of doing their jobs well, not a blocker.
What HR policies support a secure remote work environment for hybrid teams?
Human resources can support a secure work-from-home setup by defining standard remote work setups, specifying approved tools, and ensuring regular training on how to prevent data breaches. Aligning policies on work hours, device use, and data handling across hybrid teams helps maintain consistent security standards from in-office staff to digital nomads.
How can companies maintain collaboration and innovation without frequent in-person meetings?
Organizations can replace many in-person meetings with focused video conferencing sessions, shared whiteboards, and async document collaboration, allowing remote teams to stay connected across time zones. When the remote work setup includes secure access to shared resources, teams can brainstorm, iterate, and ship outcomes quickly without compromising data protection.
What competitive advantage do secure remote work setups provide moving forward?
A secure remote work setup gives companies expanded access to talent, increased productivity, and resilience in the modern workplace shaped by the COVID 19 pandemic. By embedding security into remote work arrangements, organizations can scale a distributed workforce safely and turn security maturity into a long-term competitive advantage.
How does embracing secure remote work benefit many industries and many employees?
In many industries, secure remote work arrangements open opportunities for many employees, including those seeking flexible hours or a new job that does not require daily office work. When companies invest in robust controls to prevent data breaches, they can support digital nomads and hybrid workers while still protecting clients, regulators, and their own brand.
What are the key challenges of remote work environments?
Remote work demands VPNs, MFA, and password managers for cybersecurity, while also causing employee isolation, cultural disconnection, disengagement, limited senior access for career growth, and communication barriers that lead to misunderstandings. Addressing these requires structured digital interactions, clear protocols, and proactive leadership to balance security with well-being.
