Hire Assistant Near Me research · 2026-08-04
MFA and account controls for a remote assistant: a small-business checklist
NIST’s small-business guidance points to practical controls for shared tools, including MFA, strong passwords, backups, and updates.
Key stats
Key takeaways
- Require MFA where accounts support it, especially phishing-resistant MFA.
- Use named accounts and least access for the task lane.
- Back up and test recovery before a remote handoff.
Start with the accounts that matter
NIST’s small-business guidance recommends MFA, strong passwords, regular backups, software updates, and phishing training. For an assistant, begin with the accounts that can expose customer records, payments, email, or recovery settings. List the account, owner, permission, MFA status, and removal process.
Give access to the task, not the whole business
A named account lets the owner see who acted and revoke access without changing every password. Give the narrowest permission that supports the work. Keep payment approval, recovery codes, owner passwords, sensitive exports, and final customer promises with the accountable owner.
Test the stop rule
Write what the assistant must do when a message is urgent, private, angry, legal, medical, or financially sensitive. The assistant should stop, record the question, and route it to the named reviewer. A control that exists only in a document but is never practiced is not a reliable handoff.
Remote-access control table
| Control | Owner action | Assistant boundary |
|---|---|---|
| MFA | Enable and store recovery safely | Never request or reuse owner codes |
| Named account | Create, review, and remove access | Use only assigned account |
| Least privilege | Grant the smallest useful role | Do not export or change permissions |
| Backup test | Run a restore check | Report missing or damaged files |