Google is shutting down Internet access for some employees. here’s why

Has your job ever restricted your work computer’s access to specific websites? Perhaps your company blocks certain websites because they are not conducive to productivity, or it is inappropriate to visit those websites in the workplace.

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Well, Google banned some of its employees from accessing the Internet unless, of course, the site was owned by Google. The company says the pilot program is an experiment to measure how well restricting employees’ Internet access protects the company from cyber attacks.

CNBC reported Google selected over 2,500 employees to participate in the experiment, but after some opposition, the company opened the experiment to volunteers and allowed employees to decline to participate.

Google will provide participants with desktops that cannot be connected to the Internet and can only access internal web tools, Google Search, Google Drive, and Gmail. These computers will also be devoid of administrative orders.

Disconnecting employees from the Internet reduces the chance of hackers running malicious code. Google also plans to release more AI tools for use internally and externally, potentially increasing the potential for data breaches and privacy risks.

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“Ensuring the safety of our products and users is one of our top priorities,” Google said in an email. “We regularly look for ways to fortify our internal systems against malicious attacks.”

AI tools collect, store, and process vast amounts of data, creating many vulnerabilities for companies and their users. Google is also looking for more government contracts, and critical data leaks could compromise national security.

Google hasn’t experienced a significant data breach since 2018 when an API bug update exposed the data of 52 million Google+ users. But foreign espionage hackers are becoming more sophisticated, as Microsoft recently announced that Chinese intelligence has infiltrated email accounts belonging to US government agencies.

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Over the past few years, Google has stepped up efforts to protect itself and its users from DDoS attacks. Specifically, in 2022, Google identified and then Largest ever Layer 7 DDoS attack stopped,