Work email security risks

EMPLOYEES who use their corporate email addresses to sign up for personal accounts on marketplaces or social media platforms may unintentionally expose their organisations to account theft and security breaches.

- SERGEY SHCHERBEL

This is according to research from Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

Kaspersky experts analysed compromised credentials leaked on the dark web between 2019 and 2024 for three popular entertainment platforms: Roblox, Discord and Netflix. The analysis revealed that, on average, about 7% of users whose accounts were leaked had registered on these platforms using a corporate email address.

Personal use threats

Registering on various services for personal use with a work email is not best practice for various reasons. First, you may lose access to these accounts if you change jobs. Second, it can pose security risks for both you and your company. If your passwords follow a predictable pattern across different services, it increases the likelihood of other accounts being compromised - including your work account.