Most businesses (59pc) are more worried about the loss of employee productivity from online shopping than they are about potential network threats on Cyber Monday, a survey released by Dell SonicWALL suggests.
Cyber Monday, this Monday, 26 November, is anticipated to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. Corporate networks are expected to take an extra hit from social media this year, as online shoppers visit social media sites for the scoop on Cyber Monday sales.
Peak hours, when internet bandwidth will be most impacted by online shopping, will occur in the afternoon, according to Dell.
In turn, 63pc of businesses expect a greater decrease in productivity due to Cyber Monday, compared with last year, the survey reveals. Companies with 500-999 employees anticipate the greatest impact on productivity, at 83pc.
The survey also reveals most employees are unable to recognise online threats against the corporate network.
“Cyber Monday raises productivity issues and potentially opens corporate networks to possible threats. Our survey results show that businesses are more concerned with productivity and bandwidth issues than malicious attacks,” said Patrick Sweeney, executive director, product management, Dell SonicWALL.
Businesses can protect themselves from both cyber threats and assure productivity through next-generation firewalls that provide 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, said Dell.
