Avoiding The Privacy Paradox In The Workplace
For cybersecurity professionals and online users alike, the burning question is no longer “do platforms bridge our privacy?” Rather, it’s “which platforms bridge our privacy?” Nowadays, data tracking is a known side effect of using internet-connected devices and services. And the data shows users are indeed concerned about, well, their data:
As many as 72 percent of Americans feel that all, almost all, or most of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms, or other companies and 79 percent of Americans are concerned about how companies are using the data they collect about them.
- Over 80 percent of online users in the U.S. also feel that their data is vulnerable to hackers.
- Yet, 59 percent understand very little or nothing about what data companies collect.
What’s more, according to Norton research, 40 percent of Americans admit they don't know how to protect themselves from cybercrime. And cybercrime victims collectively spent 2.7 billion hours trying to resolve their dilemmas in the last 12 months.
This dichotomy in how someone intends to protect our online privacy versus how they actually behave online is called the privacy paradox. And it can be a big problem for businesses - just think about that cybercrime recovery time.
Considering cyber security teams are understaffed in the workplace, it’s up to decision-makers in the public and private sectors to encourage employees to be proactive about breaking the privacy paradox problem in the workplace. To that end, consider the following common places and platforms online users sacrifice their online privacy and how the risks can trickle down to organizations.
Video Conferencing Services
The Covid-19 pandemic threw many workplaces into a remote-work mode, and many companies relied on video conferencing platforms to get through it. Even as organizations might move back into in-office meetings soon, video conferencing services are sure to stay in some capacity — and so are the cyber threats that come with them. These mainly regard webcams and the fact that cybercriminals can access them via spyware, committing a true invasion of online users’ privacy.
TIP: Instilling webcam awareness in employees, such as using a video background to not expose physical spaces, closing out video conferencing accounts after every call, and covering webcams when not in use, can all go a long way in protecting an employee and, in turn, organization’s privacy.
Online Banking Institutions
Online banking is nothing new to companies and the staffers they employ. But what’s most overlooked is that online bank accounts are also the most sought-after platform for cybercriminals to hack into.
TIP: To level up your organization’s online banking activities, instill strong password practices in accounting or financial services departments. This means using a long, unique password and changing it often. A password managing software can also help keep track of the ever-evolving logins. In addition, opt for two-factor authentication, if it’s an option.
Online Shopping Sites
Especially for employees with a company credit card handy, online shopping sites can be a bane to a business’s privacy. The convenient act of saving payment methods for later online shopping sites means these payment methods are sitting ducks in the event of a data breach.
TIP: To offset any unfortunate circumstances, encourage employees to never create accounts on online shopping sites and instead manually input information for every individual transaction.
Finally, a Virtual Private Network should be viewed as mandatory for every employees’ online activities.
Pew Research: Statista: Norton LifeLock: Image: Unsplash
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