Whether you work at an advertising agency or develop software for clients, the chances are that you use the internet extensively at work to ensure smooth operations.

It’s also possible that you use multiple devices connected to the internet to make sure that your work is done on time and is up to the mark.

There are thousands of employees like you out there. Almost everyone with a desk job accesses the internet, and here’s what’s dangerous about it; there are so many companies that don’t follow proper online security protocols at work. This puts them at a greater risk for being falling victim to cyberattacks.

It’s a common misconception to assume that keeping company data safe online is the sole responsibility of the organization's IT department. As security becomes more complex and cyberattacks get smarter by the day, it has become imperative that employees play an active role in a company’s security online.

Think about it for a minute; employees are constantly sending emails and text messages back and forth between departments. Perhaps they are accessing classified client information or even handling and managing social media.

It takes all but a day for cybercriminals to find a link between all these connections in a weak security network, and even lesser time to exploit these links.

The attacks could be masked through social engineering, spam emails that sound too real, shared malware, and vulnerable applications. The point is, cyberattacks these days don’t look like cyberattacks at all.

Luckily these days, you can easily upgrade your cybersecurity system with robust tools like a UK VPN, which will boost your security by letting you connect to the internet through a remote server and spoof your location to the UK.

It’s time everyone started taking online security seriously. In this blog, we’re going to discuss five different reasons why workplace cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Let’s go through them one by one.

Uninformed employees are more likely to click on phishing links
According to Verizon’s data breach reports, around 4% of your employees will click on phishing links sent to them via email. This could result in irrecoverable data damage and set back a company by thousands of dollars.

But can you blame them?
People have started to share more and more information digitally than through any other means. It is easy to confuse a phishing email for a legit one, especially when social engineering attacks have significantly evolved.

Keeping your employees informed about cybersecurity risks and best practices will reduce the chances of falling victim to one.

Everyone is a target
It's easy to assume that only business owners can target cyberattacks. That’s far from the truth. Cybercriminals are more likely to target less technically savvy employees as an entry point into the system.

This is why it's important to consider everyone a target and take measures and precautions accordingly.

Only robust online security can keep cybercriminals out
Cybersecurity is a wall that is best held up from the inside. Without proper policies and protocols and people following these protocols and procedures, it's easy to weaken this fortress.

Mishandling and ignoring security protocols by employees can weaken your security system and create vulnerabilities that are easier to break.

Ensure that you’re deploying proper security protocols and enforcing them to avoid getting your systems hacked. A great tool to consider using that doesn’t come with highly technical security protocols is a UK VPN.

Easy to use by employees everywhere and super-efficient at providing high-quality security, these will spoof your location to the United Kingdom, letting employees connect to office networks from anywhere in the world safely.

Prevention is cheaper than damage control
Conducting security training and workshops for employees can be costly—which is why we see a lot of business owners forgo this step.

However, dealing with hacking attempts and leaked information can be far more costly than preventive measures. According to a study, cyberattacks can cost companies over a million US dollars.

Ignorance comes at a cost
A single cyberattack can leak valuable client information, which can compromise client trust and cast a negative light on the business—which is a higher cost than just monetary damage.