A Comprehensive Guide to Internet Safety

To establish a culture of internet safety in the workplace, it’s important to have a good understanding of what the internet is and how it’s used within your organization. That way, you can build guidelines and best practices that employees can follow when using the internet to keep themselves and your organization as safe as possible when browsing.

Importance

The internet is full of risks that can do a lot of harm to individuals and organizations. For example, one of the biggest risks an organization faces when employees need to use the internet for daily tasks is a virus that can damage or steal their data. Companies deal with a lot of sensitive data that cannot be compromised or lost. And if there aren’t enough internet safety practices in the organization, this data is at risk of getting targeted by viruses.

We’ll get into the other risks of using the internet later, but it’s important to understand that internet safety practices are essential to keep these risks at bay. That way, the organization can utilize and take advantage of all the information and benefits the internet has to offer without putting its data and systems at risk.

What Are the Risks of Using the Internet?

As mentioned earlier, the internet is full of risks to organizations and individuals. Internet safety is essential for keeping these risks at a distance and making sure that employees and your organization’s data aren’t exposed to unnecessary risks.

Generally, data breaches are some of the biggest concerns of organizations when they connect to the internet. However, many other risks serve as the reason why internet safety practices and controls are essential for organizations.

Here are some of the most common risks that organizations face when using the internet:

• Viruses that infect the computer and compromise data and entire systems
• Malware and spyware which gathers information without the person’s knowledge that individuals can use for personal gain
• Cyberstalking which is commonly used to threaten or harass an organization

Accessing and using the internet unsafely makes you and your organization more vulnerable to these risks. This is why teams need to take the time and put in the effort to create proper internet safety controls that allow them to access the internet safely and securely.

Internet Safety Tips

Every organization should approach internet safety in a way that serves their needs. Since each organization uses the internet differently, internet safety plans and controls will look different for each one.

That said, here are a few tips that all organizations should keep in mind when creating their internet safety protocols to ensure that they cover all bases and that everyone is kept as safe as possible.

Create a Cyber Security Plan

If you’re looking to create a safer online environment for employees and an organization, it is vital to craft a cybersecurity plan. These plans are specifically designed to cover your organization’s needs and address specific risks you face when employees go on the internet.

When creating a cyber security plan, make sure that you consider the risks that the organization faces. The plan should be tailored to your needs and address specific risks that may be unique to your company and industry.

Train Employees

Another way to ensure that employees and company data remain safe when browsing the web is to train employees in internet safety. While you can put many controls in place to mitigate risks on the internet, it’s very important that everyone in the company that uses the internet understands how to do so safely to protect themselves and the company.

Thorough training of employees in internet safety may take some time and effort. However, rest assured that it will all be worth it, as this creates a much safer digital environment for your employees and reduces the major risks associated with connecting to the internet.

Control Physical Access

It’s important to make sure computers and similar systems cannot be accessed by unauthorized individuals. This is why we recommend finding ways to control physical access to servers and computers when not in use. This could be in the form of locking doors or even having locked storage areas specifically for devices connected to the internet.

Require Strong Passwords

A huge part of internet safety is strong passwords. One of the easiest ways for hackers to get into an account or system is by stealing a password. And if a password is simple, it will be much easier for hackers to guess the actual password without even stealing anything from you.

This is why you shouldn’t take a strong password for granted. If you want to access the internet safely within your organization, make sure that everyone uses strong passwords. This is especially true for company email addresses, as hacking into a company email account allows people to access endless amounts of data.

Always Upgrade or Update Systems

Keeping systems up to date is very important for internet safety. This includes operating systems, anti-viruses, and other programs on company computers. Keeping everything updated or upgrading systems to the best options possible creates another safety layer for the company, which is essential when browsing the web.

Ensure Internet Safety with SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor)