The following article appeared in the January 2010 edition of the Central Illinois Business Magazine.
The perils of unmonitored employee Web surfing Unintentional visits to unsafe sites could drown your networkBy Jeff Facer, Owner and CEO, Area-Wide Technologies
In my last column—printed in the November 2009 issue of the Central Illinois Business Magazine—I discussed the productivity-killing potential of malicious junk email messages your employees may receive if rigorous anti-SPAM protections are not in place to filter the messages flowing into your company’s email system. This month, I’d like to continue in the same vein and discuss the equally perilous consequences of allowing employees to surf the Internet without company-wide policies and protection in place.
The arrival of the digital office has made it necessary in virtually every industry to provide each and every employee with at least some level of access to the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, the Internet is fraught with unsafe Web sites that have the potential to irreparably harm both the individual’s workstation and your company’s business network as a whole. Furthermore, many of these Web sites feature content inappropriate for viewing on company time.
Indeed, the implementation of a company-wide Internet acceptable use policy, or AUP, may correctly be viewed as both a technology and human resources effort to prevent damage to company infrastructure and curtail the proliferation of inappropriate material amongst members of your staff. Realistically, you have two methods of approaching this often unintentional yet potentially catastrophic problem: installing preventative measures to block access to all Web sites not deemed necessary for employees to complete their job duties, or monitor the surfing histories of each employee and subsequently identifying and disciplining staff members found in violation of your company’s AUP.
The former, more proactive approach certainly warrants considerable appeal, but it should be remembered that such efforts often warrant the purchase of Web logging software and the configuration of corporate infrastructure to define appropriate Web sites and prohibit access to sites deemed inappropriate for company time. Conversely, the latter method of enforcement may be viewed as an open invitation for seemingly endless employee disciplinary action; however, such an approach may prove judicious if visiting inappropriate Web sites is a problem limited to just a handful of staff members.
Whatever approach you ultimately decide is best for your company will help limit the potential for human resources issues related to Web surfing, as well as restrict the potential for the spread of viruses, malware, and other productivity-killing consequences of visiting Web sites inappropriate for company time. As mentioned, these consequences are often the unintentional result of Web surfing—perhaps a result of a lack of work or supervision—yet nevertheless carry the potential to render individual workstations or entire networks inoperable and spread malicious software that may require the dedication of considerable company resources to eradicate. An awareness of such dangers is the first—and most important—step to minimizing your company’s risk and saving your business time and money.
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