There is no doubt that company information, regardless of size, is an irreplaceable asset, and its loss diminishes competitiveness and certainly leads to financial losses. In this sense, investing in internet security for businesses, especially for employee use, is becoming increasingly necessary.
According to the Cybercrime Magazine website, cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Therefore, to prevent these estimates from increasing in the coming months, it is important to read this article carefully.
The key point here is the employee's role in this process, which, incidentally, is a determining factor in the vast majority of data security breaches in companies, as you will see in the following lines.
What is the employee's role in the company's internet security?
As we saw earlier, the predictions for attacks are far from encouraging. The growth in these numbers is due to the fact that cybercriminals are changing their targets. In short, instead of exposing themselves by directly attacking the networks of organizations, where they know there are many protection and detection mechanisms implemented, they attack the weakest link in the chain, the user, in this case, the employee.
Examples of attacks resulting from employee errors, often minor ones, have been reported numerous times.
To help you understand better, I've listed below the main reasons why employees are directly responsible for the company's internet security.
1. Opening emails
Still widely used by companies, email is not at the top of this list by chance. The number of emails containing malicious links, better known as phishing, is enormous.
Using various tricks to persuade the employee to click on the email link, the criminal obtains confidential employee data, and in many cases, data from the company itself.
Nowadays, cybercriminals use social media to collect relevant information, such as occupation, address, friends, and interests, about their targets in order to use it in social engineering attacks. This information is used to trick the employee into believing that the email they just received is genuine.
Furthermore, there is a new attack, which has become very widespread in recent months, that combines sending fake emails or SMS messages with a voice call. This attack is called Vishing, and it uses social engineering as a success factor.
2. Social Networks
My 78-year-old grandmother uses Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. She also watches religious videos on YouTube on her Smart TV (seriously). If even a senior citizen, who in her prime only listened to the radio and in terrible quality, why assume that employees don't use social media during work?
The issue is not just about usage, but the dangers to the company's internet security that uncontrolled access can cause.
With such a large number of users, hackers have a greater chance of getting what they want through this channel. They then create numerous fake ads, known as malvertising, which somehow (usually a product with a price well below the usual) induce the customer to click on the ad and provide information such as their CPF (Brazilian tax identification number) and credit card details.
Employees using social media during work hours, especially around holidays, can cause major problems for the company's internet security.
3. Accessing harmful websites
Many websites on the internet contain ads, pop-ups, and malicious links. Pornography sites, for example, are full of dangers.
Unsuspecting and unprotected users access these websites during work hours or breaks, putting company information at risk if they do so from a company device.
Keep employee access to websites considered harmful or that typically contain malicious content under control.
4. Downloads
As I mentioned earlier, fake emails can contain attachments that download harmful content. Furthermore, employees downloading pirated software can cause major internet security problems for the company.
Unlicensed software, with modifications to its normal operation, may contain security vulnerabilities and other malicious files.
Original software receives security updates periodically, specifically designed to fix problems and address new developments in the world of internet security.
Failing to keep track of downloads and software installed by employees can become an entry point for hackers.
5. Confidential Information
Keeping confidential company information under the control of employees may not be very advisable. Imagine an employee who knows a lot of sensitive information about the company and openly discusses it with their family online. If their cell phone, for example, experiences any kind of data security breach, the information they shared will be available to a cybercriminal.
An important employee who possesses sensitive company information should exercise extra caution regarding internet security.
6. Photos in the workplace
It's common for people to post photos of their work environments, showing their daily routine and tasks. However, be very careful with this! With a small oversight, important company information could fall into the wrong hands.
Imagine that bank details or passwords are listed in a printed table on an employee's desk, and this employee posts a photo showing this information in the background. As mentioned earlier, hackers study their targets, seeking information to orchestrate their plan in the best way.
Therefore, photos or videos of workplaces containing confidential information and data should be handled with great care by company employees.
7. Transparency in case of problems
Often, employees download malicious files or install pirated software, causing problems on their computers or devices. Many try to only temporarily fix the problem, uninstall the software, and continue their work. However, malicious files will rarely leave the device with a simple deletion by a lay user. Certainly, the professional responsible for the company's IT systems will have to scan the machine for malware and remove it immediately.
In cases where this control is lacking, the device can remain vulnerable for a long time, until the security weakness is noticed, or in the worst cases, suffers a cyberattack.
Instruct employees that in case of problems related to systems and software, it is important to maintain transparency and inform the responsible professional so that repairs can be made as quickly as possible.
The weakest link in the chain
Currently, many companies are being invaded by simple and unsophisticated attacks. Cybercriminals have been using techniques to persuade people to take the actions they want. Attacks that could be avoided if users had been trained or had control and protection.
Changes in behavior, either on the part of the employee or the manager, should be considered when internet security issues exist.
Employees will always be the weakest link in the chain, and also the biggest target for hackers.
In the Internet Security Guide for Businesses, you will find various ways to identify your company's internet security vulnerabilities .
I hope I have clarified your doubts regarding the importance of employees in the company's data security.
To the next!
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