In the early years of the Internet, protecting your company from unsuitable or unseemly Internet content was simple: Block network access to the sites people shouldn't visit on company time or equipment.
Now, with the number of URLs on the Web hitting 1 trillion, according to Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), that's obviously not feasible, even as the potential downsides of workers spending time in cyberspace's less-respectable neighborhoods have increased dramatically. Plus, the dangers aren't just limited to those shady sites.
Bottom line: Web filtering has gotten a lot more complicated for companies than just blocking porn sites and ESPN.
The good news is that an array of companies, from Internet service providers to third-party applications providers to major security outfits, now supply a range of tools to monitor and regulate how employees use the company network. At the same time, HR and IT departments have become more sophisticated about how they limit employees' Web activities.
It's a rare company that doesn't include some form of acceptable Internet use policy in its employee handbooks. There's been an attitudinal shift to where many businesses now view a certain level of personal Web surfing as a natural outgrowth of Web access and a form of personal freedom, like going to the dentist on company time. They're willing to trade off some cyber-goofing-off for the productivity benefits of ubiquitous high-speed Web access.
Unfortunately, as companies' tolerance has grown, so have the online threats, which range from malicious or accidental distribution of proprietary information to malware that doesn't require a visit to xxx.HotCoeds to find its way onto corporate networks. Web risk management company Websense Inc. (Nasdaq: WBSN) estimates that as much as 75 percent of malware now originates from reputable, high-traffic name-brand sites.
The primary reason to check company internet usage is security. Yes, it's good to check for malware also, but security is the main reason. In this month's copy of CFO Magazine, CFO's ranked security at the bottom of their worries. That makes me think all CFO'a should talk to their IT people and find out how hard it is to take a ton of company information out on a 32-gig thumb drive. Or even an eight. IT paranoia does work when dealing with the internet. The weakest link in any company is an employee. Someone downloading something from a 'known' website doesn't mean that the employee isn't uploading something there. Malware is a big threat I know, but the biggest risk is security.
Great overview. I think the key is this quote from the article "The concern today is less
with how much time employees might be wasting on sports, gambling, or
adult sites, and more with how many doors into critical systems they're
unwittingly opening while goofing off."
I oversaw blocks on Facebook and MySpace not because of time wasting but because they were the cause of too many viruses. Granted our anti-virus programs were catching them - but why keep testing fate for a non-business site.
Blocking for security is not really an issue anymore. I'm willing to be that some folks who said they did no blocking in the survey really meant no blocking for content.
Monitoring or censuring web use is a daunting task and I think the companies that attempt to do so are pretty much wasting their time and money.
Employers can and should treat computer use like they do private message telephone use. Set up reasonable guideline and if anyone crosses the line, they get fired or at least disciplined.
Do companies tape all telephone conversations to make sure no secrets are let out, or to keep personal calls to a minimum? Nope.
Let employees have some personal freedom but be strict on just what computer use is permissible.
I'm surprised by the percentage of respondents who said, "We do not monitor employees' online activities" (33 percent). As you point out, hbetts3, in this day and age between, the legal and malware exposure is such that the figure seems awfully high.
Or have we been reading too many infosec stories and reports for too long? What I used to think of as paranoia is now just common sense in the articles of faith in security management.
I am not offended by my company checking my internet usage while I am at work. Most especially if that usage exposes my company to risk. Nor should any professional. The internet is a privilege, not a right. Using it from your company is most certainly not a right.
Personally, I consider it the hight of hubris to believe that my internet usage does not pose a threat to my company. No matter how careful I am about where I surf, there are too many "clever" individuals in the ether finding ways to get their malware onto my PC and possibly my company's network. So, I say to them, "MORE POWER."
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
As we well know, the online echo chamber and its increasingly viral and social components can magnify the propagation speed and distribution of stories and rumors, whether true or false.
In his recent Congressional testimony, Dennis Blair, the U.S. director of national intelligence, stated that the U.S. is "severely threatened" by cyber attacks and that the recent Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) attacks should serve as a wake-up call.
Fatal System Error, the book just released by West-coast-based journalist Joseph Menn, is really a public policy statement written as a thriller for a wider reading public. UPDATED 2:45 PM
Just when you despair that mobile apps are drowning in triviality -- Sticker Jam Hearts, Cookie Doodle, and Love Jive are all top iPhone apps, incidentally, and Calm Candle isn’t far behind -- know that hardworking, serious apps now are clawing their way onto our phones.
Smarter Collaboration: How to Thrive in a Challenging Business Environment Market conditions are changing faster than ever, and organizations need to improve their agility and adaptability in order to provide better service and improve processes. The ability to work with customers, business partners, and employees as effectively as possible - while at the same time holding down costs - is a key to success. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
Research shows that the youth of today like Facebook – but not blogging or Twitter. Does that mean Facebook has won, or just that it's not yet out of favor? Will all the services we see today fade into Ovaltine-or-Wheaties status in just a few years?
What kinds of companies are doing the most innovation in the data center? Turns out it's midtier enterprises that are taking the "Just Right" approach.
Ray Kurzweil's Blio and Apple's iPad tablet will make it easier than ever to have books "read" to us, says Dr. Kim, who believes that talking tablets will become interwoven into our consciousness as we "merge" with the increasingly elegant machines we hold in our hands.
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Email This
TWEET THIS
