As a business owner or a human relations manager, there are undoubtedly certain measures you’ve put in
place to keep your employees happy throughout the work day. Some companies provide their workers with fully-stocked snack bars, others bring in gourmet coffee each morning, and still others give employees the opportunity to check personal email and websites while on their breaks. Unfortunately, one of these measures may be detrimental to your business.
While checking personal emails on work computers may seem like a harmless way to keep employees connected, it can open a door to viruses, unsecured servers, and even a loss of crucial data. In a recent study, a worker unknowingly allowed CryptoWall into their office by means of a webmail client, after which it went on to infect a client terminal server, a F&P server, and an SQL server, destroying seemingly everything in its wake. Luckily, the office had a thorough disaster recovery system in place and was able to recall stored data, but business was still completely shut for the day.
We understand and appreciate that you give your employees certain liberties, but it may be time to revisit your company IT policy for the security and production of your business. Here are a few security measures every business should have in place:
Personal email use. While small amounts of personal email use is acceptable for employees in a variety of industries, you should ensure that your employees know what’s safe to open and what’s not. They should only open emails from people whose addresses they recognize, and they should avoid downloading any attachments.
Personal social media use. Especially for those in marketing or creative industries, this one can be difficult to enforce. However, personal social media use should generally be avoided on business computers. Beyond the risk of inappropriate posts reflecting badly on your business during hours of operation, social media is notorious for allowing hackers to access users’ information–and during business hours, that means your business information.
Transfer of business data to outside devices. Your employees should never transfer confidential business information or any other confidential data to their personal devices by any means, whether that’s email, USB storage, or another method. Doing so may leave crucial data open to public access.
Security of personal devices on business networks. Your employees may want to access your business network through their mobile devices; if they do so, they should have their devices properly secured. Without proper passwords and security measures, again, any potential hackers may have access to your business data.
As you know by now, technology is an ever-changing thing, with new tools and devices being developed each and every day. To generate a company IT policy that will keep your business running and your employees happy, contact Firewall Computer Services at (407) 647-3430 today.