The internet is an essential tool in many segments of the world. In the case of companies, the role of the internet is even more strategic, serving as internal communication channels between employees and management, external communication such as marketing and advertising, and a large part of the activities of numerous sectors that depend on connectivity, which, incidentally, has intensified with the pandemic.
To help companies understand the importance of safe and healthy internet use and the necessary measures to ensure its effectiveness, we have compiled some facts from research conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society ( Cetic.br ).
Fact 1: Internet-based activities in companies
Internet use is practically indispensable for business growth. Technology in the country is growing more each day and driving economic growth. See the percentage of companies that use the internet by type of activity:
- 💰 – Bank payments and inquiries – 92%
- 🛒 – Market monitoring – 73%
- 🛠 – Search for information about products or services – 93%
- 💼 – Interacting with government organizations by making payments, collections, and online requests – 72%
- ✉ – Send and receive email – 100%
- 👨💻 – Use of instant messaging – 76%
As we can see, activities of great importance for the correct or planned functioning of the company are carried out using the internet. In contrast to the benefit of the speed that the connection provides, there are risks of data loss, hijacking, or theft in many of these tasks.
Imagine that all of a company's banking data is stored on a single computer, and that computer is infected by viruses and malware resulting from unauthorized access by an employee during idle time. All data from the months following the incident will be lost if the company does not have a data protection and backup system.
Fact 2: Employee use of computers
An employee's interaction with a computer is practically unavoidable in a company. The only exception is for departments within companies that require only manual labor.
According to the research, the percentage of employees in the companies involved in the research who use computers is:
- Up to 10% of the company's employees – 7%
- Between 11% and 25% of the company's employees – 23%
- Between 26% and 50% of the company's employees – 29%
- Between 51% and 80% of the company's employees – 14%
- From 81% to 100% of the company's employees – 23%
- Don't know / No answer – 4%
We can see that in only 7% of the companies participating in the survey, less than 10% of employees use computers in their daily work. This reflects the growth of technologies and innovations, and also indicates that a large part of the team uses computers in some of their tasks.
However, this data also identifies that these employees are dependent on computers to be productive. If the equipment is outdated, has any slowdown problems, or lacks regular maintenance and software updates, it can become a major problem and delay or eliminate employee productivity.
Fact 3: Use of mobile devices in companies
We can say that most people today use cell phones . This scenario is not very different within companies. Many use mobile devices in general to benefit their businesses, facilitating communication, data exchange, and shortening distances.
According to the research, the percentage of companies that use mobile devices for work purposes is:
- They use – 71%
- They do not use – 29%
However, it is necessary to warn about the dangers of mobile devices , especially when used on open or public networks, and particularly when these devices remotely connect to the company's local network. These connections typically have low security and can compromise all data stored on the device as well as all data on the company's local network.
Fact 4: Risk Management in Companies
"Prevention is better than cure." This widely used saying perfectly fits this topic. Having a dedicated IT support professional in companies is considered very important by a large number. But, unfortunately, a considerable portion of companies don't have this concern. Cetic.br listed , in percentage, companies based on the presence of a department or person in charge of IT management:
- They possess – 19%
- They do not possess – 78%
To be more specific, companies that have a department or person in charge of managing the company's digital security risk:
- They possess – 62%
- They do not have – 38%
Using technology and the internet solely to benefit a business without considering the potential side effects is a mistake made by many managers and entrepreneurs.
Using the internet securely is extremely important, and at the very least, minimum measures should be taken to ensure the integrity of company data.
Below, we list some simple solutions for companies concerned about data security and the productivity of employees who use technological devices in their daily work.
Solutions
Preventing problems that can cause loss of revenue, productivity, or in some extreme cases, the closure of the company due to leaks and loss of sensitive and important data, can often be done with simple tools and actions.
We've listed some basic IT solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, some tips for employee training and establishing access and security rules, and also some solutions that include a suite of tools for data security, access control, and remote access for businesses. In each section, we've included links to pages where each solution is detailed.
Backup
It's always worth reiterating the importance of having a reliable backup, from which important data can be recovered after any incident. In some types of attacks, such as ransomware, which blocks data until a ransom is paid, the main way to solve the problem is to restore company data from a backup copy. Backups are fundamental to the security of company information.
💡 Check out some backup solutions here .
Antivirus and Antimalware
Contrary to what the name suggests, antivirus software doesn't just protect against viruses, it's just an old-fashioned name to describe what it actually does.
Antimalware is also software designed to protect against viruses. The difference is that antimalware uses a more modern term that encompasses all types of malicious software, including viruses.
Both are essential for the safe use of the internet in the company.
💡 Check out some antivirus and antimalware solutions here .
File Storage
Storing company files in tools developed for this purpose keeps the data more secure and speeds up access to it.
Today, there are basically two ways to store files in a company: in physical infrastructure and in the cloud.
💡 Check out the best file storage services, both physical and cloud-based, here .
Business Email
Business email is becoming increasingly important in the business world, and more and more companies are creating at least one email address.
It is recommended for small, medium, and large companies, as well as self-employed professionals and freelancers who wish to personalize their business. Furthermore, the best business email solutions on the market today have effective security systems that are updated regularly.
💡 Check out some business email services here .
Guidelines and rules
For managers and their employees to use technology and browse the internet safely at all times, the first step is to educate employees on a series of basic and simple procedures that will keep equipment free from any risk.
💡 Check out some tips for guiding cell phone use in the workplace and defining rules for employees.
Internet Access Control
Controlling internet access is a common practice in companies and is becoming increasingly important and necessary. Two main points should be observed in managing internet use in corporate environments: data security and team productivity!
Without any kind of control or policy regarding internet access, it's normal for employees to spend some of their time accessing personal email, social media profiles, watching YouTube videos, messaging on WhatsApp, or researching topics of interest.
Therefore, controlling internet access in companies is a fundamental policy in team management, as it reduces wasted time by increasing focus, in addition to avoiding various security issues with access to harmful websites or famous internet scams.
Business VPN
Naturally, the function of a VPN is to help increase data security when accessing resources on a network to which you are not physically connected. However, visualizing the need for this, and especially its importance, is a little more difficult. Therefore, we have listed some examples of scenarios where the use of a business VPN is extremely relevant:
Home Office : Employees, managers, or owners working remotely can use a VPN to access resources and files on the company's physical network. This makes data access and operations (bank transactions and file transfers) much more secure.
Privacy in communication : there is a lot of information and strategies used in companies that can be considered confidential for logistical reasons, or business details that make a difference compared to competitors. To have secure and encrypted communication between employees, directors and owners, the use of a VPN connection is important.
Remote work : In many sectors of the job market, there are remote workers. These workers perform their work, for the most part, away from the company's premises and often need to access important data stored on the company's physical server. What most of them don't know is that to access this data securely, a VPN connection should be used.
Conclusion
Technology, and especially the internet, has helped us in countless tasks, improving the quality of work and optimizing time. I hope that this article has answered many questions on the subject and that the tools mentioned will be useful in some way for your company to grow.
On our blog, you'll find many other resources that might interest you, in addition to our IT Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses , where you'll find numerous tools for IT solutions within your company.
Until next time!
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