Workplace porn: alive and well
24-09-2004
by Deirdre McArdle

Recent surveys have exposed the high levels of "smut surfing" in the workplace and the apparent reluctance of companies to tackle the issue, which continues to raise its ugly head.

Few events demonstrate the prevalence of e-porn better than the recent incident that saw the UK's Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) caution over 200 staff and dismiss 16 others for accessing pornography at work. In the past year, staff at the DWP downloaded some 2 million web pages of adult content. Of those 2 million pages, some 18,000 contained images of child pornography.

This episode shows that complacency among management about stopping the flow of inappropriate images can have a serious impact on a company and can lead to an environment whereby some members of staff feel they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.

So far, a situation the scale of the DWP incident has not occurred in Ireland. This is not to say that Irish people have resisted the temptation of adult content -- far from it. A recent report by Irish firm PixAlert highlighted some interesting, though worrying, statistics about Irish employees accessing inappropriate content while at work. According to the report, some 40 percent of Irish businesses say they have had to discipline a member of staff for what they deemed to be inappropriate use of the internet.

Bearing the PixAlert figures in mind, it seems like only a matter of time before a workplace pornography incident rivalling that of the DWP occurs in Ireland. So what can companies do to reduce the threat to their business? First and foremost, firms must draft an internet and e-mail usage policy for staff members, indicating what appropriate internet usage is and is not.

"When companies are drafting usage policies, they need to use a degree of common sense; don't be too draconian," says Ken O'Driscoll, technical manager at IE Internet. "Companies also need to make staff aware of the policy. Having everything out in the open and getting staff to 'buy-in' to the policy will ensure that people do not disregard the guidelines."

This seems like a simple step to take, yet figures show that far too many companies have not even implemented this basic precaution. A study conducted by the Small Firms Association (SFA) in May 2004 showed that 57 percent of small businesses in Ireland have no e-mail or internet usage policy in place.

"There is definitely an information gap where many firms do not fully understand how dangerous the internet can be," said Pat Delaney, director of the SFA. "Yes, the internet is a vital tool for businesses, but they need to realise that if they are providing staff with access, then it is their duty to regulate it."

PixAlert director Dave McLoughlin also notes that a usage policy should go beyond images and content downloaded from the internet. In fact, McLoughlin says that in the months after the DWP deleted the 2 million inappropriate images in its system, it found a further 500,000 brought in via memory sticks, CDs and encrypted files, which are able to by-pass gateway solutions. "These new technologies are posing a serious threat to businesses," he said. "Companies haven't yet upgraded their policies to reflect this new threat and images from these sources go relatively undetected."

"There is very much a reactionary approach to internet and e-mail abuse in Ireland," adds O'Driscoll. "It seems that companies only implement policies when trouble starts." O'Driscoll warns companies that it only takes one person to take offence at an e-mail with adult content for the company to be taken to court for sexual harassment.

The courts hold a very dim view of cases where companies have not implemented an internet usage policy. "The first thing the court does is ask a company if they have an internet usage policy; if they don't then they may as well get out their cheque book," said Delaney.

Filtering technologies can also play a part in protecting both companies and their employees from inappropriate material. "Filtering software provides a technical solution to what has become a common problem," says Neil Wisdom, sales director of LAN Communications. "Depending on a firm's budget, they can get varied levels of protection and monitoring software." There are many filtering software products on the market, ranging from NetNanny for a basic level of protection -- such as would be needed in a home environment -- to software that monitors employees' PC usage and also incorporates security and anti-virus technology.

Perhaps the biggest mistake firms can make is to do nothing to stop this growing problem, and it is just that: a growing problem. "Internet and e-mail usage is continuing to grow, as is the number of adult websites online," said Wisdom. The scale of growth of these adult websites is phenomenal: filtering software company N2H2.com said that there were more than 260 million pornographic web pages on the internet in 2003, compared to only 14 million in 1998.

The good news is that by recognising that there is a problem, companies can go some way towards minimising their exposure to threats. The bad news is, that threat will never disappear.