Businesses bracing for security impact on Cyber Monday

Most employees are not able to recognize online threats against the corporate network and companies are most concerned that online shopping could open the network to potential new threat vectors, according to Dell.

As people return to work on Nov. 26 after the long Thanksgiving weekend and boot up their computers to take advantage of special offers from retailers, they’ll be taking part in a holiday tradition: Cyber Monday. Peak hours, when Internet bandwidth will be most impacted by online shopping, will occur in the afternoon.

This year, social media is expected to add to the impact on corporate networks as shoppers visit Facebook and other social media outlets for information about Cyber Monday sales.

The survey found 59 percent of businesses were more concerned about loss of employee productivity from online shopping on Cyber Monday than they were worried about potential network threats.

Companies ranging in size from 500-999 employees anticipate the greatest impact on productivity, at 83 percent. Overall, 55 percent of businesses of all sizes predict their employees will spend two to four hours a week shopping online during the holiday buying season.

Business can protect itself from cyber threats and assure productivity through next-generation firewalls that provide advanced features such as content filtering and application intelligence and control. This allows companies to determine what applications or websites employees can access on the corporate network.