Google Reportedly Plans An Internet Detox For Employees To Bolster Cyber Defenses

To bolster its cybersecurity measures, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google has reportedly embarked on an internet detox mission for select employees. 

What Happened: Google has initiated a pilot program where certain employees will be restricted to internet-free desktop PCs. This measure aims to mitigate the risk of unauthorized changes or installations that could lead to potential vulnerabilities.

Under this program, the company intends to disable internet access on designated devices, except for essential internal web-based tools and Google-owned websites like Gmail and Drive, reported CNBC citing undisclosed internal materials.  

See Also: After Apple And Samsung, Google Reportedly Bans Internal Use Of AI Chatbots — Including Its Own Bard

Some employees with internet-dependent job roles would receive exceptions to ensure smooth operations. In contrast, others will have no root access — meaning they won’t be able to run administrative commands or install software. 

The tech giant initially intended for more than 2,500 participants employees to participate in this program, but after getting feedback has allowed opt-outs and opened it for volunteers.

Update: “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,” said Chris Pappas, Google spokesperson.

Why It’s Important: Google’s internal materials suggest that “Googlers” are frequent targets of attacks. The report noted that if an employee’s device is compromised, attackers could access sensitive user data and infrastructure code, posing a severe risk to user trust and privacy. 

The primary goal of this initiative is to reduce the likelihood of cyber attackers remotely executing arbitrary code or gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data. By disconnecting most internet access, Google aims to create an additional layer of protection against sophisticated cyber threats.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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