Technology: handle with care
Most organisations have measures in place to protect their systems from spyware and viruses. They use spam filters to cut down on unsolicited emails and have a firewall in place to minimise exposure to hacking.
Even if more recent developments such as blogs and instant messaging have yet to be addressed by many, existing efforts indicate a broad awareness of the risks of internet use and the need to put measures in place. But many small organisations have yet to develop formal written policies.
This is a dangerous oversight because workplace use and misuse of internet-based systems can create many areas of risk that cannot be addressed by software tools and systems alone. Employees with workplace internet access can create potential risks relating to productivity, responsibility, privacy, security and legal liability. Let this go unchecked and you could expose your business to an assortment of problems.
