The Visible Employee

Book excerpt: The misuse of an organization's information systems by employees, whether through error or by intent, can result in leaked and corrupted data, crippled networks, lost productivity, legal problems, and public embarrassment. As organizations turn to technology to monitor employee use of network resources, they are finding themselves at odds with workers who instinctively feel their privacy is being invaded. The Visible Employee reports the results of an extensive four-year research project, covering a range of security solutions for at-risk organizations as well as the perceptions and attitudes of employees toward monitoring and surveillance. The result is a wake-up call for business owners, managers, and IT staff, as well as an eye-opening dose of reality for employees.