An American multinational technology company, Google is starting a new pilot program restricting some of its employees to use internet-free desktops.
A Google spokesperson in an emailed statement said, “Ensuring the safety of our products and users is one of our top priorities,”.
“We routinely explore ways to strengthen our internal systems against malicious attacks”, the spokesperson added.
What is this Program?
According to the CNBC reports, Under this program employees will not be able to browse websites or use online services while using these computers.
Apart from this, these employees will be able to use internal tools and Google-owned websites like Google Drive and Gmail.
The company initially selected over 2,500 employees to participate in this program and after getting feedback, they made some changes.
Additionally, the employees can also volunteer to join if they are interested as they have an option to choose whether they want to be part of the program or not.
Challenges that employees will face?
The employees have certain concerns over the internet restriction. They won’t have administrative privileges, which means they won’t be able to perform certain tasks like running special commands or installing software.
Why did the company take this Step?
The company has taken this extreme step to reduce the risk of cyberattacks as there have been several cases where companies witness cyberattacks.
Even earlier there were reports that around 66% of Indian companies have experienced at least one instance of economic crime and scams in the past two years, with the covid-19 pandemic prompting a significant increase in platform fraud.
Additionally, last week, Microsoft said Chinese intelligence hacked into company email accounts. These accounts were belonging to two dozen government agencies that included the State Department, in the U.S. and Western Europe in a “significant” breach.