Securing the “Third Place” Office: How to Keep Your Team Safe in Southwest Florida Coffee Shops and Coworking Spaces

The Office Is No Longer Just an Office

In Southwest Florida, “going to work” might mean:

• A coffee shop in downtown Fort Myers
• A coworking space in Naples
• A marina lounge in Cape Coral
• A condo balcony in Bonita Springs or Punta Gorda

For many teams, that “third place” (not home, not the main office) is where real work happens — client calls, financial approvals, patient scheduling, even remote access into line-of-business systems.

That flexibility is great for recruiting and retention. But it also creates a big, often invisible, security gap.

If your people are working on open Wi‑Fi from public spaces, they’re very likely:

• Bypassing your office firewall and web filters
• Storing work data on personal devices
• Logging into critical systems from unsecured networks

This guide walks through a practical, Southwest Florida–specific set of policies and protections you can use to secure that “third place” office without killing productivity.

The Risks of Working From Coffee Shops, Marinas, and Coworking Spaces

Let’s ground this in what actually happens around Southwest Florida:

• Open / shared Wi‑Fi
  The “Guest Wi‑Fi” at a café on McGregor or a coworking space in Naples might be fine for browsing, but it offers little separation between devices. Attackers can sniff traffic or try to intercept logins.
• Unmanaged personal devices
  A sales rep working from their own MacBook or iPad at a coffee shop may have no EDR, no disk encryption, and outdated software.
• Shoulder surfing and overheard conversations
  In small, busy spaces, it’s easy for someone to glance at a screen with PHI, financial records, or confidential deal details, or overhear client names and account numbers.
• Lost or stolen devices
  It only takes one unattended laptop at a Fort Myers café or a tablet left in a car at Coconut Point to become a data breach.
• Inconsistent access control
  A contractor working from a coworking space might retain access to your systems long after their project ends, simply because nobody locked down their remote access properly.

Step 1: Define Clear “Third Place” Work Rules

Before tools, you need clear expectations. These policy basics work well for Southwest Florida businesses:

1. Approved locations
   Allow third-place work from reputable coffee shops, recognized coworking spaces, and employee homes. Prohibit public library kiosks, hotel lobby kiosks, shared family PCs, and untrusted public terminals.
2. Approved devices only
   Require company-managed laptops or securely enrolled mobile devices (MDM/Intune). If personal devices must be used, they should be enrolled in a secure management profile (encryption, PIN, remote wipe, no jailbroken/rooted devices).
3. Always-on VPN or secure remote access
   All remote work must go through your secure VPN or remote desktop gateway — no direct RDP, no open SSH, no unsecured cloud admin panels.
4. No downloading sensitive data to local storage
   Customer, patient, or financial data should live in secure cloud apps (Microsoft 365, line-of-business apps, EMR/EHR) — not downloaded to desktop folders.
5. Confidential calls and screens
   Employees should use a headset and avoid reading sensitive data aloud in public. Privacy screens are a plus in tighter spaces.

Document these rules in a simple, one-page “Remote Work & Third Place Policy” that your staff actually reads.

Step 2: Secure Wi‑Fi Use Anywhere in Southwest Florida

You can’t secure every café’s network, but you can secure how your team uses them.

Minimum technical safeguards:

• Enforce a business VPN
  Always-on or auto-connect VPN from company devices, especially on Wi‑Fi networks that are not your office. Block access to critical apps unless the VPN is on.
• DNS and web filtering
  Even on public Wi‑Fi, protect users from phishing and malicious sites with cloud-based DNS filtering.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
  Require MFA for all cloud apps (Microsoft 365, line-of-business apps, remote desktops). Prefer phishing-resistant methods (authenticator app, hardware keys) over SMS when possible.
• Zero Trust mindset
  Don’t assume any device or location is trusted. Continuously verify user identity, device health, and session risk.

Step 3: Protect Devices From Loss, Theft, and Florida Weather

Southwest Florida adds some unique wrinkles: storms, evacuations, power issues, and frequent travel.

Core device protections:

• Full-disk encryption
  Laptops and mobile devices should be encrypted (BitLocker, FileVault, mobile OS encryption).
• Remote lock and wipe
  You need the ability to remotely lock or wipe a lost device used from a café or coworking space.
• Endpoint protection and EDR
  Managed, monitored endpoint protection that can isolate a compromised device — even if it’s not on your office network.
• Automated patching
  Systems should receive OS and application updates automatically via a centralized tool, not only when connected to the office.
• Offline continuity
  Staff should have clear backup procedures for when storms knock out internet: what they can and can’t do locally, and how to sync safely when they reconnect.

Step 4: Manage Contractors and Third Parties Carefully

Southwest Florida businesses rely heavily on contractors — seasonal staff, marketing agencies, consultants, maintenance crews, and more. Many of them work remotely from “third places” too.

To reduce risk:

• Use identity-based access, not shared logins
  Every contractor gets their own unique account; no shared usernames or passwords.
• Define time-limited access
  Set automatic expiration dates on accounts for project-based work.
• Use granular permissions
  Grant access only to what’s needed (specific SharePoint sites, apps, or databases).
• Review access regularly
  Run quarterly reviews to remove old accounts and prune permissions.

Step 5: Turn This Into a Simple Checklist for Staff

To make this stick, give your team a one-page “Third Place Security Checklist” like:

• Am I using my company-managed device?
• Is my VPN connected?
• Is anyone close enough to see my screen or hear confidential info?
• Am I storing anything locally that should live in a secure cloud app?
• Am I using MFA on every app I log into?

You can even provide a short micro-training video or lunch-and-learn to walk people through it.

How SWFIT Can Help

SWFIT helps Southwest Florida organizations turn “people working everywhere” from a security headache into a manageable, secure, and compliant reality.

We can help you:

• Build and roll out a clear Third Place Work Policy
• Deploy and manage VPN, endpoint security, and Zero Trust tools
• Secure contractor and remote access with MFA and conditional access
• Monitor devices and respond quickly if something goes wrong

If your team is working from coffee shops, marinas, or coworking spaces and you’re not sure how well it’s all protected, we can help you find out — and fix it.

Looking to secure remote and hybrid work in Southwest Florida? Contact SWFIT for a quick security assessment tailored to your environment.