Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/15338
access to the Internet. The sites that eat up productivity at work include auction sites, travel sites, E-commerce sites over the holidays, social networking sites, car-shopping and price- comparison sites, pornography, fantasy sports, horoscopes, banking, investment and stock-watch sites, cyber-dating services, and, to rub salt in the employer’s wound, job-hunting C yber-slacking—wasting time online instead of working—is only one of the many problems faced by today’s businesses from unlimited and uncontrolled Identifying Internet abuse Monitoring allows for identifying the culprits and dealing with them individually, rather than being forced to take a global action, such as cutting off all access or introducing draconian measures that may be necessitated by the actions of a few. Boost security, reduce risk Any kind of infection that attacks computers on the em- ployer’s network can pose serious consequences for the Web Monitoring: Can Businesses Afford Not To? About David Kelleher David Kelleher is a Communications and Research Analyst at GFI Software, an infrastructure provider for small and medium-sized businesses. A journalist by profession, David has over 20 years’ experience writing for newspapers and publications across most verticals. A for- mer editor, he has a deep interest in information technology and its impact on end-users, end-user education, writing about security for non-technical people, security awareness in SMBs and all research related to market perceptions and security. Guest Columnist: David Kelleher, Communications and Research Analyst, GFI Software sites. And where downloading video clips and lots of music files is concerned, storage capacity on the network’s servers! Every minute spent cyber-slacking increases costs and re- duces profits and in addition to lost productivity, SMEs, like large businesses have to be concerned with a host of other Internet related threats, including: • Introduction of malware; social engineering risk • Leakage, intentional or not, of confidential information • Bandwidth usage What to do? There are two options. The first, and most extreme, is to cut off access to the Internet entirely. This may work effectively for some employees who do not need it; however, it is unlikely that you will be able to apply it to every single employee. Using the Internet at the workplace has become an integral part of doing business. More and more businesses now opt for a second option: deploy software that prevents access to inappropriate sites, filters keywords and monitors against malware, thus allowing continued Internet access by em- ployees who need it, while at the same time protecting the company’s assets. For a business, the principal advantage to Web monitoring is how it can be used to protect a company’s assets; including equipment, networks and data. Other key advantages include: messagingnews.com 27 organization. Depending on the kind of infection, data could be compromised or stolen, which could lead to legal reper- cussions. Monitoring employees’ Internet use also means it is less likely they are going to be involved in activities that can expose the company to litigation. Maximize Productivity Employees who are aware they are being monitored are likely to spend more time working and considerably less time on personal matters, thereby leading to an increase in productivity. Accountability Without a monitoring system in place, some employees may feel like they can do whatever they want. On the other hand, if an employee feels like they are being monitored they may not go to certain sites in the first place. Internet misuse is a problem in every company that has an Internet connection. Misuse borders on the occasional transgression to serious impact of a company’s productivity. Cyber criminals have been, and will continue to, exploit vulnerabilities wherever they are found. Being without a basic protection methodology such as Web monitoring is a shortcut to financial losses and serious security risks. DK/TMP BE OUR GUEST