It’s no secret that your technology company depends on the capabilities of your computer systems to function. You should be aware that simple actions your employees take could be putting your company’s equipment and networks at risk of cyber crime, including cyber attacks, cyber theft, and other computer security incidents. The average cost of a single cyber attack is incalculable—cyber attacks can directly target finances and ruin a business’ reputation.
The Risks of Web Searches
As an employer, you should educate your employees about searching for certain topics on the internet due to the risk of coming across websites encrypted with viruses or malware that could be detrimental to your computer systems. Stress that the potential for cybercrime could affect employees individually as well as the business as a whole. More than 90 percent of companies surveyed by the DOJ incurred either monetary loss, system downtime loss or both because of cybercrime, so take it upon yourself to put search engine guidelines in place.
“Simple actions your employees take could put your company’s equipment and networks at risk of cyber crime, including cyber attack, cyber theft and other computer security incidents.”
The Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms
Common term searches conducted online one can expose your business to the risk of cyber crime. Encourage employees to avoid following suspicious results in search engines. Any result that promises free products or materials is suspect. The least risky search terms are usually health-related topics and searches about economic news. It is essential to remember that the number of dangerous search terms is ever changing. Hackers want to impact the highest amount of people with the least amount of effort, so they aim for popular search terms most. Ill-intentioned hackers also adapt quickly to the fast-paced nature of the Internet and the public circle, so oftentimes social or celebrity events popular at a given moment climb quickly to the top of the internet’s most dangerous search terms and are a high risk for infecting your company’s computers. According to the DOJ, industries considered a part of critical infrastructure businesses accounts for a disproportionate amount of computer security incidents. If your company is in any of these industries, be especially careful about internet searches to ensure computer safety and protect against a potentially devastating loss, both monetary and in down time:
- Agriculture
- Chemical and drug manufacturing
- Computer system design
- Finance
Your business is at stake, download and share this PDF with your employees.
