What staff web misuse is costing your business

Policy matters
Any decision needs to be backed up by a clear acceptable use policy for the internet. In Australia,  a number of organisations have helpful guides to the issues involved. Some examples are the Internet Industry Association (IIA), a national Australian membership association for the internet industry and NSW Businesslink, a Government body which provides solutions in the areas of IT, finance, HR and business support. MessageLabs’ own white paper, The Legal Risks of Uncontrolled Web Use and Email Content, is a good place to start (this is available for download at www.messagelabs.com.au/white_papers/legal_risks). Again, legal advice is important.

Each small business has its own ethos. Some managers may take a more laissez-faire approach while others want to lock everything down. Some people need full access to the web and companies may wish to give some departments or individuals more latitude than others. A good example is the marketing department of a lingerie firm who need to see their competitors’ websites despite images that might be unacceptable in other companies, or even other departments in the same firm.

In the end, it comes down to a choice. Where do you draw the line on web misuse? How do you balance individual privacy with the overall good of the business? What is the correct balance between monitoring and blocking? There is no right answer. It varies from company to company. But there is, perhaps, a right way to go about it.

—Kerrie-Anne Turner is managing director of MessageLabs (www.messagelabs.com.au), a leading provider of business security services.

Unwanted websites

List of the most popular blocked sites by categories.

Chat                                   35.2 percent
Ads & popups                    33.2 percent
Unclassified                       13.5 percent
Streaming media                4.7 percent
Games                                1.9 percent
Personals & dating             1.8 percent
Computing & Internet        1.0 percent
Adult/sexually explicit       0.9 percent
Infrastructure                     0.7 percent

Source: MessageLabs Intelligence, Feb 2009

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