Sophos's WS1000 appliance defends firms against web threats, and
allows IT departments to block access to unapproved sites.
IT security and control firm Sophos is warning organizations of
the need to implement and enforce policies to control employee use
of internet sites during work hours. The warning follows news that
three workers at Neath Port Talbot council in Wales have lost their
jobs after spending too long on the internet auction site eBay when
they should have been working.
According to reports, one employee has been sacked, two have
resigned and another has received a warning. A further two cases
are currently ongoing and overall, during the last 18 months, up to
seven council staff have lost their jobs. However, Sophos experts
note that these extreme actions could have been prevented if the
council had put in place proactive measures to control and block
the inappropriate use of the web at work.
"Most businesses allow some level of internet access during
office hours, and this is crucial to many jobs. However, it is
essential that employees are not allowed to run wild and spend as
much time as they like on whatever happens to be their favorite
site," said Carole
Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos. "When staff do
start to do this, firms must nip the problem in the bud before it
can escalate into the kind of situation Neath Port Talbot council
is currently experiencing. It's simple to block access to
non-essential websites, and certainly a lot less embarrassing than
having to sack or discipline staff."
The council reportedly had security software in place to prevent
access to inappropriate web pages, such as porn sites, but not eBay
and other legitimate websites.
Sophos recommends that all businesses learn from Neath Port
Talbot council's situation and ensure they deploy web security
software that can be tailored to block any sites that the
organization deems inappropriate and non-essential for office-based
web browsing. Sophos further recommends companies protect
themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network
access and defend against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and
viruses.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.