written by
Zoé Collinet

Important IT news: Microsoft Edge to become standard web browser

Group 2 min read

Dear colleagues,

We want to draw your attention to the important issue of IT security, and more specifically the use of web browsers on company computers.

As you all know, cyber threats and data breaches are increasingly common in today's world. As BESIX employees, we are committed to ensuring the security and protection of our organisation's data and systems against these cyber threats.

For this reason, we would like to inform you that as of 1 April, we will be implementing a new policy regarding web browsers. From that date onwards, only Microsoft Edge will be available for use on company computers. This means that other browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, will no longer be accessible.

We understand that this change may require some adjustment, but we would like to stress that this is a security benefit for our company.

Microsoft Edge, which is integrated to Office 365, has been designed to offer better security features than other browsers. It also gives the IT team more control over the security of our systems, including making sure your Microsoft Edge is always using the latest, and thus most secured, version.

Most importantly, many of you have stored important information such as passwords, favourite pages and bookmarks into your browser. Don’t worry, you can still access this data in Microsoft Edge, but to be able to do that, you have to migrate this information.

Therefore, we would like to encourage you to transfer your favourites, passwords and other data from your current browser to Microsoft Edge as soon as possible before 31 March. You will find all the steps to follow to migrate your information to Microsoft Edge in the attachments of this e-mail and on intranet under Competences centres > IT > Best practices.

We are committed to help you to transition smoothly. We’ve listed 3 questions you might have, and their answers:

  1. I’ve stored my favourites and bookmarks in folders and in a logical order. Will this be migrated as well?
    Unfortunately, while you will be able to migrate all of your favourites and bookmarks, they might be migrated in a disorderly fashion. We apologise for this inconvenience.
  2. Does this mean I also have to use Microsoft Edge on my smartphone or tablet?
    No, Microsoft Edge will become the standard browser on company desk- and laptops, but not on smartphones or tablets. You can continue working with Safari or any other browser on those devices.
  3. I use a password manager. Will it be migrated as well?
    Your password manager is an add-in to your browser. It will be migrated when you follow the steps attached, but you might have to log in again when using Microsoft Edge for the first time.

If you have questions about the migration of your information to Microsoft Edge, contact your IT Service Desk.

In addition, we remind you that there are plenty of steps you can take to strengthen your IT security. For example, by updating your password when this is asked of you or by being vigilant when it comes to suspicious emails or messages.

In case you want to learn more about IT security, you can also take online courses with eAcademy platform.

Finally, we would like to thank you for your cooperation and commitment to IT security. By working together, we can help to ensure that BESIX remains protected against cyber threats.