Sir – I thought Simon Gawne's article in your March edition (‘Can’t someone else do IT?’, Secure IT, pp51-52) made for really excellent reading.

Simon points out that, five years ago, most companies focused on providing IT security at the desktop. He rightly states that this situation is changing, such that protection mechanisms are deployed at multiple points within the corporate infrastructure – at the desktop, in network servers and at the Internet gateway.

Indeed, this last point is crucial. With the British phonographic industry clamping down on music pirates, businesses too must realise that they will also be in the firing line if employees use company systems to download illegal files from the World Wide Web.

Like parents who face Court action due to their children’s downloading habits, companies must change the way in which they manage Internet usage at work if they are to avoid a legal backlash.

Given the host of legal implications now arising from monitoring employees in the workspace, observation-based policies offer no real solution. Client organisations must adopt the mantra of prevention not cure to protect themselves from any inappropriate browsing.

Blocking web sites at source prevents awkward debates about what constitutes unacceptable content, while at the same time providing an holistic solution for protecting firms and their employees.

Failure to act now will leave companies footing the bills for their employees’ indiscretions. Don’t let it happen to you.

John Tomlinson, Managing Director (EMEA) St Bernard Software (UK)

Source

SMT