Integrated Professional Skills in the Digital Age: Internet Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of internet usage, encompassing its positive and negative impacts on both society and organizations. It delves into the benefits of internet for gathering information, expanding market reach, and enhancing communication, while also addressing the negative consequences such as productivity loss, security risks, and the spread of inappropriate content. The report identifies various threats faced by organizations, including malware attacks, hacking, and phishing, and suggests measures to mitigate these risks. Furthermore, it compares two unified communication systems, video conferencing and email, highlighting their functionalities and usefulness for businesses. The study aims to create awareness about the internet's influence and provide insights into its responsible and effective utilization in the digital age.

Integrated Professional
Skills in the Digital Age

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
1) Comparison of positive and negative use of internet to society and organisations................3
2) Threats faced by organisation and society while using internet and measures which should
be taken to deal with threats........................................................................................................5
3) Comparison between two unified communication systems....................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Internet is a global computer network providing a variety of information and
communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardised
communication protocols. The study will give details about the positive as well as negative use
of internet to business as well as society, i.e., how business and society is impacted by positively
and negatively by using internet. The aim of the report is to create awareness about internet
among the people. Further, the report will highlight various threats which are been faced by the
society and business while using internet. Moreover, study will contain a detailed comparison
between various communication service providers and its usefulness for businesses.
TASK
1) Comparison of positive and negative use of internet to society and organisations
Internet has become the most essential source in the real world, it helps in gathering
necessary information and support in making effective coordination with employees and other
members of society as well (Naumann and et.al., 2016).
Use of Internet to organisation
Positive use Negative use
To Gather information: Facebook, Instagram
etc are used by using internet. information like
what is going in the world what are new trends
which are been followed by the people. So it
assists business in making product according to
the needs of people. Internet is helpful to
business as it provides information about
customers’ requirements, needs of people,
what type of products people want, any change
in the taste and preference of consumers. It
assists the business in dealing with competitors
as through the useful information changes can
be made. Internet helps in expanding the
market as nowadays various platforms are
available such as amazon, flipcart etc.,
Employees uses internet at workplace and they
use social networking sites. This type of uses
affect their productivity and it decrease
production capacity of organisation badly.
There are many companies those which are
selling their products online. Use of internet
increases security risk for business. Such
malicious hackers hack the confidential data
and leak such details. This type of things
affects brand image of the organisation badly.
Negative opinion of consumers about
company’s products and services raise
dissatisfaction among consumers which
decrease sales of business unit badly.

company can sell its product through these
sources. Business also takes reviews from
customers i.e., they are satisfied or not with the
product quality or services and if any changes
required it can be made by considering the
online reviews (Langset, Jacobsen and
Haugsbakken, 2018).
Internet also brings New competitors to the
market. Internet removes the restrictions of
geography, nowadays, shopping is no longer a
choice as people can order the goods from any
where. Internet has impact on business in this
sense that more competition is created.
Use of internet to society
Positive use Negative use
Helps in creating relationship or improving
interaction: Internet helps in creating building
relations between people. Here are various
platforms available such as Facebook,
Instagram, etc. by the use of that people meet
new people and can have a great conversation.
These platforms provide large audience at
single place. By positive use of internet
geographical barriers from the people can be
removed. Social media platforms provide
information about the different culture which is
been followed by the people in different parts
of world. People can communicate with each
other thus helps in inspiring the society. By the
use of these platforms healthy relations can be
Internet provides data to all users easily,
sometimes small kids use internet and they get
illegal or inappropriate information which
affect their mentality badly.
Use of internet to the great extent can disturb
the personal life of society members as they
fail to give sufficient time to their family and
friends because of use of social sites such as
Facebook, twitter etc.
Misuse of internet enhances terrorism activities
in society.

created among people as they can be in touch
with each other.
2) Threats faced by organisation and society while using internet and measures which should be
taken to deal with threats.
Threats which are faced by business while using internet:
Malware attack: Malicious software commonly known as malware which affects the business
activity on a daily basis. It disturbs IT and computer process and in extreme case delete or steal
the data or hold to ransom valuable business and personal data. Malware gives permission to
hackers to access all the data, devices and systems without permission. Its just a cold malware
which changes over time. Types of malware which can enters in a computer systems are ransom
ware, Trojans, worms, keylogger, rootkit, spyware, etc. For example HSBC provide online
services to its depositors and they use application to manage their accounts. But malware attacks
hack their data which makes them negative. Malware get faster and smarter, finding new ways to
the device or network. Malware software is an growing threat to small and medium business. It
affects almost every device i.e., computer, mobile or tablet to larger systems such as servers and
databases. Once malware enters in a business computer it monitors all the activities which is
harmful for the HSBC as its information is been continuously monitored by some other person
and company does not knows about that. So this affect the overall functioning of organisation.
Hacking: The major issue which impacts the working of an organisation when internet is used
by them is hacking. Hacking is an attempt to exploit a computer system or a private network
inside a computer. Hackers damages the data by erasing or changing the data or by damaging the
actual data. Hacking impacts the organisation in such a way that the confidential information of
company is leaked to other competitors. It impacts in such way that losing business information
to thieves means loss of competitive advantage for a company. When HSBC website are been
hacked it can cause serious consequences for business, it can negatively impact the reputation of
company, leaves a business legally liable, can be a cause of loss of sales and many more.
Hackers can also damages HSBC financially by hacking organisations accounting files, the
company would no longer knows who owed its money(Trappel, 2015).

Phishing: Phishing is the fraudulent activity which used to obtain sensitive content such as
username, password and credit card details. Phishing attack is an fraudulent message, usually in
the form of an email, which attracts user to click that link. By clicking that links it leads the user
to victim malicious website or initiates a malicious download(Christidis and Devetsikiotis,
2016). These links are provided to employees in HSBC as when the employee click the link it
gives access to hackers and after that any activity on that PC will be monitored by hackers and
thus day to day activity of business are monitored by them. When phishers lounge an attack they
usually need to hijack a particular brand. As attackers typically set up a malicious landing page
which closely resembles the web page of a trusted brand. This makes easier to convenience
victims to respond to a call or action, such as filling out a form or downloading something. This
types of publicity affects the brand image, leaving the impression that its web pages are unsafe. It
results into loss for the HSBC as customers might end up avoiding the brand's legitimate
websites for fear of accidentally landing on a fake web page(Hoffses and et.al., 2016).
Threats which are faced by Society while using internet:
Addiction: People can get addicted to internet which can hinder their physical and mental
development and alter the way they think, resulting in giving extra time to browse internet and
not meeting their personal obligations and activities which are beneficial for them. Giving rise to
problems such as addiction, loneliness and poor sociability which leads to a poor soft skilled
society.(Ellaway and et.al., 2015).
Physical and mental issues: Too much usage of internet can lead to sleep deprivation, anxiety
and sadness among users giving rise to mental and physical sickness and social isolation along
with problem of mood swings, these problems result in multiple diseases and disorders.
Unethical use: Users can indulge in illegal and inappropriate materials which is not suitable for
people of all the age and some notorious users may also indulge in activities like hacking account
data or bank information causing serious harm to the society.
Planned misuse: Internet provides users with the power to reach masses but this facility can be
misused by using internet to spread hatred and terror in planned manner causing serious issues
and problems for society.
Measures of security and privacy that should be taken when Internet applications or
services are used online

Installation of Antivirus is the great measure that must be taken by each organisation and
individual while using internet. Use of antivirus help in protecting data from unauthorised
access. It is beneficial in keeping data secure for longer duration and minimise the risk of
hacking.
Bolster access control system is another great measure that must be taken by business and
individual to minimise negative impact of Internet. It is the tool in which individual or firm can
use strong password system which help in keeping the details safe and secure. Furthermore,
individual must update their system time to time. Use of advance system and software help in
protecting the system from unauthorized access.
3) Comparison between two unified communication systems
Unified communication system consists of a system that combines, uses mixture or
multiple and various numbers of connections for business operations. A business never depends
upon a single communication system for performing its operations, whereas uses different
communication systems to perform its daily operations and diffusing information within and
outside the business. Majorly a unified system is preferred over having a singular communication
system that depends on only one communication system(Huda and Teh, 2018).
A unified communication system has multiple connections and it uses them all together
to perform smooth communication practice within a business. Every business requires different
communication systems in different ways to fulfil daily working operations and communicating
within and outside business workplace for example messages over mobile phones, video
conferencing, emails, voicemail, conference calls etc. for communicating with employees of the
business and different stakeholders along with customers and peers. Unified communication
systems can also be integrated with different application of internet, emails and different social
media platforms and can strengthen customer relationship management (Zhou, Yang and Shao,
2016). Due to digital up-gradation and improvements in technology now business relies more on
internet for following unified communication systems. Basically internet is a key factor in
unifying all the communication devices and this combination can be used for satisfying different
communication needs of the business.
Comparison between two of the unified communication systems are:
Video conferencing Electronic-mail
This basically includes or refers to receiving An electronic mail or e-mail refers to an

and transmitting visual and audio signals
catering to different users at different
geographic locations, else can be referred as
telephone with the feature of video display
showing real time audio and video for
communication between persons. It can be
used to establish conference between two or
more individuals.
application or window through which
information in form of message can be formed
and sent or distributed through electronic
means from one user to another with
attachment facility using a network.
Features of Video conferencing:
 Seamless meetings: Meetings can be
conducted using desktop computers or
even mobile facilitating users having
seamless videoconferencing from any
time and anywhere using real time
communication.
 Recording and playback feature: Real
time video conferencing could be
recorded and can be used as reference
or can be played back(Andersson,
2016).
 Easy Sharing:Information could be
easily shared and physical gestures and
emotions can be seen easily for having
better idea of information.
 Group conference: Conferences can be
held including number of persons and
they all can share information and facts
with each other.
 Better communication: It facilitates
user with option to have better
communication established because
Features of E-mail:
 Attachment: With the help of e-mail
user is facilitated with the feature of
attaching files for providing reference
along with the mail to strengthen the
roots of message. Different kinds of
files like audio, video, power point
presentation, excel document, pdf file
etc. of a prescribed size can be attached
using e-mail.
 Address book: This facilitates user with
the facility and option to add and store
any contact information with whom
communication over e-mail is a regular
affair. This makes it suitable for the
user to easily search and send message
without remembering the email id of
the person to whom mail needs to be
sent.
 Multi-purpose internet mail extensions:
This facilitates user with the ease and
privilege of sending file in the original
format which is different from

facial reactions and body language can
also be seen using video conferencing
and provides better communication
compared to audio calls, emails or text
as it provides user with real time
communication using audio and video
both(Yu and etal., 2018).
 Saving time: It provides user with the
benefit of saving time by avoiding
travelling to get for a meeting, real time
communication can be established
using video conferencing reducing the
burden of travelling and meeting.
 No constraints: With evolution of video
conferencing user is provided with the
facility of attending conferences and
meetings and can relax and attend all
the important events while travelling
also(Davies and et.al., 2017).
 Saves money: With video conferencing
facility available user can save lots of
money by saving time and money
involved in travelling and energy of
user is also saved.
text(Mansukhani, Patti and Kibbe,
2017).
 Free of cost: If a business has internet
connection, management does not have
to make additional expense on the
email facility utilized by them.
 Easy to handle and use: Using and
learning about email does not requires
additional training, there are many
email systems that uses simple and user
friendly interface which facilitates users
to use email with ease.
 Quick: It facilitates the users with speed
and email can be sent and received
within seconds, making it one of the
fastest way for communication.
 Globally used: Email can be sent to
people outside physical boundary of the
country, and can be used to send and
receive messages over any part of the
world where there is internet
connectivity facilitating user with
benefit of sending and receiving
messages from any location worldwide
globally.
 Storage facility: Email provides user
with the facility of using less space for
storing information and files in storage
and shelf using email old emails and
attachments can be browsed by the user
if information or attached file is

misplaced or deleted
Issues regarding suitability
 Technical issues:Lots of technical
issues can take place while employing
video conferencing system, there can
be issues like network failure,
connection problems and issues
regarding web camera which can create
a bad impact in important video
conferencing event and company may
have to pay the price by loosing
contract etc(Parkhomenko and et.al.,
2018).
 Non-availability: There may be chances
that one person will not be available at
time of video conferencing which can
lead to delay and wastage of time,
unavailability of one person can waste
time of different persons in the video
conference.
 Angle of the camera: This can create
problems as the person may not be
clearly visible and it cannot be
determined that who all are participants
of video conferencing if camera is not
kept properly.
Issues regarding to suitability
 Spam:There are number of spammers
which send emails that are of no use to
the user and contains links that can be
harmful and can be used to leak user
information, there is no check of the
sender and literally any person who
knows email id of the user can send
email to the concerned(Muzellec,
Ronteau and Lambkin, 2015).
 Virus:Computer system of user is at
grater risk of viruses and worms using
email as emails can be sent by
untrustworthy sources that can harm
computer system.
 Time consuming:Due to spammers and
different types of senders it is time
consuming activity to maintain email
account's inbox with useful messages.
 Waiting period: Just sending an email
can have no effect it is important that
reminders are sent on regular intervals
to consider that email is received.
 Suitability: Sometimes unwanted
emails of advertisement and promotions
can irritate user and can lead to loss of
interest using email.
Application
Video conferencing is the most use application, HSBC bank makes communication with
its employees through video calls. Sales person work across the world in different branches, head

office manager makes video calls to salesperson and take their reporting. They make connection
through skype etc. various websites. Use of this system help in making multiple calls
internationally. They can make text chat as well with users.
Email is another used tool which is used by HSBC bank, whenever firm has to make internal
communication regarding policies or sales then managers of that firms send email to all
employees which help the person in knowing necessary detail and implement these information
to their work effectively.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it can be concluded that internet is the most important thing but
individual must use it properly, wrong uses of internet can cause difficulty to the organisation
and society as well. Electronic mail system is quite effective tool, as it is helpful in making clear
communication with others. By this way necessary information can be circulated to all in
professional manner. It helps in minimising communication errors between two persons.

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