Microsoft prohibits employees from using Slack, report says
Microsoft employees likely won’t be Slacking this article to their coworkers.
The company has banned or discouraged employees from using certain outside software and online services for their work due to concerns about IT security and protecting company secrets, GeekWire reported, citing an internal company list.
Popular messaging service Slack, which just went public last week, is on the list of prohibited apps, according to the report. Microsoft is instead encouraging employees to use its Microsoft Teams and Office 365 apps, saying that while the Slack’s paid Enterprise Grid version does comply with security requirements, it’s still a competitor.
The list also includes Grammarly — which checks spelling and grammar — because the browser add-on can access the content of emails and documents, according to the report. Other Microsoft competitors' products like Amazon Web Services and Google Docs were also “discouraged for use.”
Employees were even reportedly cautioned when using the Microsoft-owned GitHub to not use the cloud version of the service for anything confidential. Microsoft declined to comment on the report when asked by FOX Business on Monday.
Cybersecurity is a concern for companies and individuals, as data breaches can be costly. Consumers made 3 million scam complaints to the Federal Trade Commission last year over a combined $1.48 billion that was lost, per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer for Carbon Black, previously told FOX Business that an increasing number of cybercriminals are selling stolen information to traditional criminals.
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The trend isn't going away, either. More Americans reported losing money in 2018 to fraud and scams than the year before, according to an FTC report.
Fox Business' Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.