NEWSLETTER - PREVENTING THE MISUSE OF YOUR IT RESOURCES
It is reckoned that nearly 90% of company employees in the UK now have regular access to, and make use of the Internet and e-mail. Despite this, very few organisations realise the consequences that the misuse of such a resource can bring about. There are now freely-available, large numbers of Web sites that provide content that is both inappropriate and in some cases illegal. From pornography to sites about bomb-making all can now be quickly located by someone with very little computer experience via a search engine such as Google.
The large numbers of such sites coupled with the ready availability of e-mail means that such material is likely to be shared with work colleagues and friends working at other organisations. This type of behaviour not only increases the risk that your organisation is compromised by a virus or worm, but that you can also be held responsible for the activities of errant staff.
Abusing company resources
Recent warnings from legal experts clearly fix criminal responsibility on the organisation itself and the key-decision makers within it, who have both the power and responsibility to decide corporate policy and strategy. This can lead to jail terms for the individuals concerned of up to 10 years.
The abuse of the Internet and e-mail (commonly termed cyberslacking) not only costs money but also slows down production. In reality, it is a case of theft.
Some offences are liable to warnings where other offences, such as downloading offensive material (i.e. pornography) and distributing e-mails that could be classed as harassment, are cases for immediate dismissal.
Many disputes have arisen about how far an employer can (and should be able to) monitor the use of communications by an employee at work. An employer will see it as an attempt to ensure business efficiency, where an employee may see it as an invasion of privacy.
Acceptable Use Policy
It is essential that you create an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) stating how employees are expected to use business communications such as the Internet and e-mail. This will inform your employees about when (if at all) they may use business communications for personal use. If you intend to monitor e-mails and telephone calls (regularly or occasionally) you should also make employees aware of the fact. You should also inform the employees that their e-mails may be looked at during periods of absence to continue the operations of the business.
This policy should be made aware to all employees and in turn, should be agreed to by all employees.
The policy will give you support for your actions should an employee violate the policy. If you dismiss an employee without a policy, you could be sued on the grounds of unfair dismissal.
Monitoring and changing online behaviour
Putting in place an AUP is the first stage of the process. Beyond this you need to monitor user activity to ensure no breaches of policy are taking place. To help with this Nviron has partnered with Policy Central to deliver a forensic software solution that will make monitoring much easier.
Policy Central Enterprise (PCE) is a highly innovative policy and behaviour management software solution contained in a single streamlined application. The software changes the conduct of computer users, by reinforcing your AUP on networks and systems.
It will allow you to transparently analyse, manage and report inappropriate traffic, flowing to or from your networked computers. PCE drastically reduces exposure to "Duty of Care" issues, compliance issues or litigation and will realise huge cost savings in the reduction of cyberslacking and inappropriate network use.
To find out more how Policy Central Enterprise can help your organisation prevent misuse of company IT resources, please contact us at this address: nburrell@nviron.co.uk
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