The promise of endless knowledge at one’s fingertips is probably the most influential achievement of the past 20 years. It’s very hard to imagine now how we ever got along without “Googling”
But progress is a double edged sword – It’s not only benign and helpful information that’s more accessible, it’s EVERYTHING.
In the privacy of our homes we all have the right to google whatever we want, however questionable or alarming, but companies can easily be liable for employee’s searches on company time and company owned devices, so employers really have to be aware if anything “out of the ordinary” is going on.
Search monitoring is the only answer
The only solution to this paradigm is monitoring employee searches, and the only way you could ever effectively hope to find needles in the proverbial haystack that is any company’s aggregated search history, is to have alerts set up for sensitive terms.
Having a published list of problem terms you’re monitoring is worth considering too – after all prevention is much easier than treatment, especially with a sensitive issues such as this.
Obviously the next matter to decide on is what search terms should you be monitoring for. Here’s a short list to get you started…
“Proxy”
Why you should be worried:
“Proxy” is short form for Proxy Server. Proxy server are very commonly used to mask browsing and / or as a way to get around site access restrictions. For example a proxy server could be used to gain access to Facebook, even when direct access to the site is blocked on company computers.
It’s a safe bet anyone searching for proxies is actively seeking a way to hide their browsing activity and get around whatever protections you have in place.
Taking action:
It would be a good idea to dig deeper and use your monitoring software to check what sites were accessed shortly after the alert was triggered. Once you identify visits to proxy sites you should try and use screenshot and keylog records to find out what sites were accessed via the proxy, and take appropriate action accordingly.
Violence / Weapons
Why you should be worried:
More than 380 people were killed in workplace violence in the U.S. in 2013 alone. Not only is this a horrifying human toll, but the implications for the businesses associated must be accounted for as well. Let’s just agree that they hardly were able to continue “business as usual” afterwards…
Taking action:
Employee searches for violence related terms are very much a matter for professional handling by your HR department. If you’re an owner/operator you might want to have a chat with your employee to check what’s going on…
Adult / Nudity / Pornography
Why you should be worried:
Aside from the obvious time wasting and the questionable ethics this type of behaviour evinces, viewing porn at work is outright offensive and demoralizing to coworkers, and can expose employers to liabilities associated with sexual harassment.
Taking action:
As with violence / gore, searches for porn related terms are within the realm of action by your HR team.