Remote Work & Hybrid Offices: Securing Wi-Fi Networks

Okay, third coffee in. Sitting at my desk in Gurgaon. Bit groggy. But I’m turned up because this topic — Wi-Fi security for remote and hybrid workplaces — strikes too close to home.

I’ve been doing this since before we were dodging 56K modems and config scripts on floppy disks. Began life as a network admin in ’93 — long before you had to hope your mux wouldn’t die in the middle of the performance hits, or that someone in the office wouldn’t stumble over the thick Ethernet cabling.

Now, I’m the one running PJ Networks Pvt Ltd, helping orgs leave behind ancient notions of secure networks and get real around cyber hygiene — and Fortinet’s been a big part of our toolkit in recent weeks and months. Especially when it comes to providing secure connectivity for where your team might be logging in — a cafe, a cousin’s house or a hybrid workspace on the third floor with crummy Wi-Fi.

Let’s get into it.

Risks of Wi-Fi Security in Remote Working

Here’s the thing — when the pandemic hit, the mad scramble to go remote revealed something we should have known better.

Unsecured or badly configured home Wi-Fi = helpless sitting ducks.

I’ve seen it time and again:

• Employees with default router passwords (yep, still in 2024)
• Unencrypted open SSIDs
• No separation of personal and work devices
• Inexpensive routers from online warehouses with backdoors that I can see from 10ft

And almost everyone — smart, well-intentioned, hard-working people — has no idea of the danger. That their home Wi-Fi has now become an attack vector into your business.

Now think about your customer database or financial reporting platform compromise, because someone’s child downloaded an infected game mod on the same pipeline.

So remote work security begins — yes, begins — at the Wi-Fi.

We are not playing VPNs or anti-virus here. Think deeper.

We’re talking:

• Endpoint detection
• Wi-Fi encryption
• Enforcement of policy in the center
• Secure remote AP access

Remote Access Security by Fortinet

I’ve been working with a lot of Fortinet gear — and no, they’re not perfect, but holy fork, when configured properly and used appropriately they’re a heavyweight.

Especially Fortinet Access Points (APs).

We frequently roll them out for customers who require their remote team members to operate on the same secured, policy-driven network the HQ is. Unfortunately, many people confuse remote work security with simply having more anti-virus installed. No. You protect the network — beginning with Wi-Fi access.

Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN + AP combo provides us with:

• Remote AP-to-core network tunnels encrypted with AES-256
• Continuous and auto-scale rollout of policies configured in FortiGate
• Automatic VPN configuration (write a script once and deploy it as many times as needed)
• Real-time threat detection with FortiGuard

I have seen this in action in one of our banking clients. Hybrid scenarios. Shapes user group: a city, two cities, small remote village. Zero signal, flaky router — we shipped Fortinet APs prebuilt, brought them online via LTE hotspot and boom. SASE policies take effect immediately for fully managed access.

Zero trust enforcement — right from a tea stall 150km from Nagpur.

And the best part? No fiddling. The IT controls applied uniformly to all sites.

Secure Wi-Fi for Hybrid Work

Now let’s talk hybrid. This is why I refer to hybrid setups as the enemy of consistency. That’s where the mid-sized businesses get bitten.

I’ve stepped into offices (even ones built just a few years ago!) with:

• Server Wi-Fi for consumers
• Guest networks leaking into core VLANs
• No MAC control
• No centralized logging

I’m talking about companies that have real data, customer assets, sensitive financials. But they run on setups a college hostel wouldn’t permit.

Here is what we recommend (and use ourselves at PJ Networks):

1. Segmented: Fortinet APs with segmented SSIDs
   • Corp Wi-Fi (802.1X + Certs)
   • Guest Wi-Fi (VLAN isolated, internet-only access)
   • IoT/Device segment with little trust
2. Log everything. FortiAPs + FortiAnalyzer = logging setup that scales.
3. Turn on geofencing & policy enforcement based on device posture.
4. Use MFA; include hardware MACs tied to device certificates when possible.

And always — always — have a plan for BYOD devices. If you allow it, control it.

Here’s another piece of advice we have for every CTO we work with:

Treat the remote AP like a branch — not a home office.

That mentality alters everything. This is why Hybrid Wi-Fi security varies from that of a traditional campus Wi-Fi. Devices stay mobile. Trust boundaries shift. These things aren’t something you just “set and forget”.

Fortinet Remote Wi-Fi Solutions by PJ Networks

At PJ Networks, we have been deploying Fortinet-based remote access packages for organizations working across the remote, hybrid, field-based, and work-from-anywhere spectrum. We pre-setup and ship the Fortinet APs with:

• Pre-configured VPN tunnels
• Native management with FortiCloud
• Token-based certificate onboarding
• Optional LTE/4G fail-over for ultra-remote connections

This setup plugs directly into their FortiGate core — managing SD-WAN, firewall policies, app inspection, and IPS alive.

Result? The connected network visibility & security posture for a senior analyst in Jalandhar is the same as the analyst sitting in HQ Noida. No difference. No loss.

One of our clients’ SOC team reduced incident response time by 60% after merging logs of hybrid work APs.

And the best part — zero-touch deployment is coming this quarter. Big time saver.

Quick Take

If you want the quick and dirty, here’s the TL DR:

• Home Wi-Fi of remote workers = very risky.
• Fortinet APs enable secure and policy-based Wi-Fi coverage anywhere.
• Treat each AP like it is its own remote branch.
• No excuse for weak networks in a hybrid work environment.

Conclusion

Look, it’s not 2004 anymore. We can’t rely on default routers and employee goodwill anymore.

Modern work needs modern security. These aren’t “extras” — hybrid Wi-Fi setups, remote work security policies, secure APs. They’re foundational.

And don’t even get me started on password reuse. Seriously. Are you Team P@ssw0rd123!, no firewall anywhere is going to protect you.

When I first fought the Slammer worm back in ‘03 — what I learned is that the network exposed sucks when you lose control. Fortinet put us back in that control — scalable, manageable, and road-tested.

Want help rolling it out? You know where to find us.

— Sanjay Seth
Cyber Security Consultant & Founding Partner PJ Networks Pvt Ltd
Still recovering from DefCon

Tags:

Remote Work Security, Hybrid Wi-Fi, Secure APs, Wi-Fi Security, Fortinet India, Cybersecurity Consultant Gurgaon