Employees, on average, are estimated to spend almost two working days (14.4 hours) shopping online in Nov. & Dec. according to a recent survey for ISACA (Information Systems Audit & Control Association) a trade group for information technology professionals.
In addition to the loss of productivity, there is also the potential security issues of viruses, spam and phishing attacks on your system. This prediction comes at a bad time as employers are asking more of their employees with increasing workloads because of downsizing. The ISACA survey revealed that half of all workers planned to do some shopping online because of either convenience or boredom.
More bad news for employers
Employees who shop online are also likely to do other online activities exposing their firm to potential problems:
• 51% bank online from work
• 40% click on email links redirecting them to shopping links
• 15% click on links to their social networks
There is good news
ISACA has some tips for employers to reduce the risk of spam, viruses and accidental downloading of backdoor agents that can highjack corporate data:
• Use your desktop PC not your mobile device to shop because your browser is likely more secure
• Protect sensitive information (bank accounts, credit card numbers) with password protection
• Keep your anti-virus and anti-malware programs up to date
• Treat social networking sites with caution (they are a growing target for fraudsters and virus writers)
• If it sounds to good to be true – it is. So be cautious of special offers popping up - they may lead to harmful sites.
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