Safer Internet Day 2012: How do you keep safe online? | MSC ...

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Today, 7^th February 2012, is Safer Internet Day (SID). A day organised by Insafe every year in order to promote and encourage internet safety, especially among young people and children.? There is a growing number and a decreasing age of internet users. This, combined with the extensive amount of and easy to access information on the web, creates a need to educate individuals as well as businesses about keeping safe online.

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While the internet has opened up endless opportunities for many people and businesses of all sizes, it also comes with a number of risks. From children easily being able to access adult content to viruses and malware infecting PC?s through to damaged reputations through social media sites: the internet can be an unsafe place.

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It is imperative that parents and schools educate young people and put appropriate restrictions on content and internet usage. Young people must also be educated in terms of being aware of phishing emails, fake websites and such security threats. These can lead to personal PC?s being infected with malware such as key-loggers, which have the capability to steal confidential data, for example online banking credentials.

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For businesses, it is fundamental to have strict security policies in place. Employees must be educated to ensure that they are aware of actions that could lead to damaging effects on an organisation. The previously mentioned threat of illegitimate websites and phishing emails also applies to businesses. If an employee opens an attachment in an email that contains malware, this could lead to financial, corporate and/or personal data being at risk if an organisation is not deploying appropriate protection.

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Social networking has also proven to be a security risk both on personal and business levels. The information that individuals share over sites such as Facebook and Twitter has been widely discussed in the news over the last few days. It has been indicated that users on such sites have a tendency to over-share: detailing when they are holiday, where they are, phone numbers and other personal information. All this information can in some cases be readily available to almost anybody.

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On a business level, employees have the danger of sharing too much information about the organisation that they work for over the internet. Companies must put rules in place in order to eliminate the risk of corporate reputation damage.

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For assistance with creating a security policy for your organisation, or for help with educating your employees about the dangers of the internet, please contact MSC. We will advise you on best practices and aid you to understand the security measure you should be taking to secure your company from the threats that the internet has introduced.

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Keep safe online with MSC.

Source: http://www.msc247.com/latest-news/2012/02/safer-internet-day-2012-how-do-you-keep-safe-online/

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