Online Safety at Work

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brandon Fossett
  • 436th Communications Squadron
Maintaining online safety at your workplace is just as important as online safety at home. In today’s ever-growing technological era, cyber and computer occupations have grown rapidly. In this day and age, as technology advances quickly, so do computer exploits and vulnerabilities. This has forced cyber professionals to consistently adapt to the changes regularly occurring on the virtual web. This article will provide helpful tips to stay safe and potentially ahead of reoccurring cyber-attacks.

During the day, most workers send or receive emails. Work emails can be a plain message regarding a luncheon or something concerning PII (Personally Identifiable Information) or FOUO (For Official Use Only). When sending an email, it is critical to be cognizant of what the email pertains to. Double check that you click the Encrypt, Contains FOUO, or Contains PII button when drafting an email with sensitive or personal information. These buttons will encrypt and make sensitive information unreadable in the event someone intercepts the message. If you’re unsure about the sensitivity of the message content, it’s always best practice to encrypt an email to be safe.

If you plan to access any website where you need to enter credentials, you should always verify the website is secure first. The quickest way to make sure of this is to check the URL of the website you are trying to use. At the beginning of the URL, you should see either “http” or “https.” If the “s” is not there, then it is not a secure website. If the site isn’t secure, you should reconsider entering any passwords or credentials. Additionally, a secure website, like a banking website, should have a small lock icon next to the URL.

Practicing the online safety tips provided above will help secure your safety online. In the event that a coworker is unsure about what do in any of these situations, you will now be equipped with the knowledge to assist them. It is important to spread the word of cyber safety because the more people who practice it, the more it will become a trend in day-to-day life.