Internet Abuse in the Workplace – Principles, Policies and People, oh my!

According to well-known author and speaker, John C. Maxwell:  “Policies are many, Principles are few, Policies will change, Principles never do.”

Although he was referring to the laws of leadership at the time, the same can be said for the laws of Internet abuse in the workplace today. Business owners establish a set of principles and policies for “acceptable use” of company-provided equipment and computers, and hope that employees will adhere to them.  But surprising things happen when employees bend the rules a little or break them altogether – especially when they think no one is watching.

Does your company have an Internet Acceptable Use Policy in place?
Does it account for 2010 technologies and new Internet habits of employees?

Take a page from our book — revisit your policies.

Visit http://www.spector360.com/whitepapers/index.htm and download a free copy of “Bringing Your Internet Acceptable Use Policy Up to 2010 Standards”. In it, you’ll find helpful advice about how to develop and implement an AUP, along with a sample agreement that can serve as a model to ensure your policies are up to date and in lockstep with social and technology changes.

It seems to be human nature to beat the system or at least try and create a better work/life balance by partaking in some personal email and Internet surfing during work hours.  Provided it is not a high-security environment, such as a hospital or government defense manufacturer, most employers seem to be flexible in allowing some degree of personal Internet use. Although the exact policies will vary from business to business, taking a page from John Maxwell’s book, these policies must also change to keep pace with adaptations in technology and human behavior.

Take, for instance, the explosion in social networking. Within the past few years, Facebook has grown to more than 350 million users – half of which check their profile every day.  There’s also been a huge spike in online gambling and gaming, Internet dating and porn – all of which serve as excellent arenas for socially engineered attacks by cybercriminals.

When major news breaks, or when websites like Match.com, Chatroulette or PeopleofWalmart catch people’s attention, they can become a huge distraction. Or, if those sites are blocked by the company’s Web filters, proxy sites like CantFilterMe allow employees to access them anyway. Before you know it, good employees can get carried away, or worse, can put your business at tremendous risk with a single click of the mouse.

Once a company’s 2010 policies are in place and communicated with employees, the next and more important step is to enforce the AUP using an award-winning corporate monitoring solution like Spector 360: http://www.spector360.com. If you suspect employees are bending the rules a little or breaking them excessively, you’ll have the insight and the tools to help curb bad habits and bring unwanted activity to a halt.

Like more than 50,000 businesses that use SpectorSoft products, you’ll be glad you did.