While you may employ safe browsing habit while at home you should be even more worried while at work not only is your computer probably link to your company's network but it may also contain sensitive and confidential company information.
Almost all companies employ automatic security measures such as antivirus malware software or site blacklisting these applications can only block known threats and rely on frequent updates to block malware and viruses.
Attackers are always creating new malware and virus so automated software may block 99.9% of threats you should still be wary while using the internet. Here are some things to consider ;
Be Mindful of The Internet Browsing
Be careful about the pages you browse to; according to a 2018 Sitelock report over 18 million sites are infected with malware at a given time each week. A common misconception is that a web address is Https instead of Http and contains the little icon lock means it must be safe and secure. In fact more than 80% of users believed that the mere presence of the little green lock and the word secure next to the URL means the site is safe and therefore do not think twice before entering their data.
However, these symbols only mean that the site encrypts information transmitted you and the website. While this a good thing as it means the information exchange between your browser and the site is not accessible to third parties it doesn't say anything about the site itself.
A hacker can just as easily get a certificate and encrypt all the traffic that flows between you and them. While no one outside the site will be able to steal the information but the site itself will have access to everything.
While a site being secure is a good start don't rely on it always exercise caution when entering sensitive information into a website. You aren't completely sure about the website validity research the site and contact your IT department, if you still aren't sure to play safe and don't enter any personal data.
Never use your work email for non-work reasons
If you frequently register as a member of different websites for personal reasons never use you work email for this it may be easier to manage only a single email address but you can risk exposing yourself and your company.
As we've seen site are being breached every single day and email address are being exposed to potential hackers.Once your email is exposed it available potentially thousands of hackers. Once they have your email they can start targeting that account spam and phishing attacks. The last thing that you want is to be receiving an overwhelming amount of malicious emails at work.
One option to consider is the creation of a throwaway email account through a free service like Gmail or Yahoo use this email address for non-sensitive site sign up, If this email account becomes compromised you can simply close the account and start a new one.
Never use your Personal email for Work Reasons
Personal email accounts exist outside of your it department's control, they are not subjected to backup, archiving, security governance.
So using them for business purposes is a clear violation of compliance regulations. Additionally, personal emails are not stored on your company's server so discovery and freedom of information act request are seriously compromised and may present a legal risk to your organisation.
It also poses serious risks of IP theft, loss of company privacy, violation of customer privacy and disruption of network operation due to exploits which can be implemented on computers not secured by your internal policies.
Hope you now agree that it's best to keep your online work and personal life separate
If you have to take your work outside the office familiarize yourself with your company's policies also be sure to talk to your it or security department about what option are available for working outside your office
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