There has been a huge increase in the use of internet and email facilities at work, with 97% of UK companies now having an internet connection (DTI Security Breaches Survey 2006). Whilst there are many commercial advantages in the availability of computer systems, there is an increased exposure to the risk of employee misuse that could lead to damage to the employer's reputation and legal liabilities.
The DTI's Security Breaches Survey carried out in 2006 reported that the biggest priority for business is protecting their reputation, with 90% of all companies surveyed saying that this was important. More companies are introducing policies on acceptable usage for email and the internet, although rather surprisingly three-fifths of companies do not block staff access to inappropriate websites and only one in six scans outgoing emails for inappropriate content.
Despite having policies in place, research published in January 2007 (by Morse, a business and technology consultancy) indicated that 28% of office workers surveyed did not know their organisation’s internet policy, which shows that businesses are not educating their staff or setting clear boundaries on acceptable usage. Indeed, 74% of male office workers admitted to breaching their organisation’s policy. The DTI’s survey reported that web misuse dominated the worst incidents involving staff with 41% accessing inappropriate websites and 36% excessively surfing the web.
The damage to a company’s reputation is not the only risk to businesses providing employees with free access to computer facilities. Employers may suffer a loss of productivity if employees are allowed unregulated access to the internet. Further, legal liability can also arise, including inadvertent formation of contractual obligations, harassment, defamation, transmission of viruses and transmission of confidential information and trade secrets.
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