Operation e-workplace protection. (Up front: news, trends & analysis).An employee carrying a zip drive See Zip disk. (hardware, storage) Zip Drive - A disk drive from Iomega Corporation which takes removable 100 megabyte hard disks. Both internal and external drives are manufactured, making the drive suitable for backup, mass storage or for moving files between computers. and a sack full of disks to the office is not uncommon. But if this employee is disgruntled dis·grun·tle tr.v. dis·grun·tled, dis·grun·tling, dis·grun·tles To make discontented. [dis- + gruntle, to grumble (from Middle English gruntelen; see and has access to the company's most vital information, this action could be a warning sign, says Nancy Flynn, founder and executive director of the ePolicy Institute. "There is an increased number of employees or laid-off employees who are disgruntled and want to seek revenge," Flynn said at the recent audioconference "The First Line of e-Defense: Creating a Safe and Secure Electronic Workplace." As a result, some may turn to electronic sabotage -- distorting or destroying a company's electronically stored information. There are ways for an organization to protect vital information stored on computer hard drives, but setting rules is not as critical as enforcing them. Flynn gives these tips for protecting electronically stored information: * Revisit e-mail and Internet usage policies The guidelines and instruction given to employees concerning the use of Internet facilities such as the Web, e-mail and chat conferences. It stipulates all prohibitions such as access to pornographic sites, conducting illegal activities and sexual harassment. . "Employers face big liabilities when they allow employees to have Internet and e-mail access," Flynn says. She suggests that companies implement a written e-policy that addresses all computer usage, including access to e-mail, Internet, instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or , list-serve memberships, chat rooms, and software guidelines. Have employees sign and date the policy, and keep a master copy in the employee handbook An employee handbook (or employee manual) details guidelines, expectations and procedures of a business or company to its employees. Employee handbooks are given to employees on one of the first days of his/her job, in order to acquaint them with their new company and . By law, employers have the right to read all e-mail transactions and monitor all Internet activity on company computers, but "they are ethically obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to let employees know if they are monitoring," notes Flynn. * Safeguard computer passwords, and encourage employees to do so as well. Make sure management obtains a list of all employees' computer passwords, including passwords to free e-mail See Internet e-mail service. services, such as Yahoo and Hotmail, if employees are accessing these services with company computers. * Train staff about e-security. Recommend to company executives that they continuously provide employees with information about the latest electronic security risks and reminders about e-policies. * Report suspicious behavior. Look for and report suspicious computer-related behavior to management, such as seeing a disgruntled employee enter the office with a box of zip disks and a zip drive. |
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