Internet usage policy
Introduction
The internet is very important in carrying out business operations and in an ideal situation; internet should be used by employees only for business purposes. Sadly, the workplaces are not normally ideal and organizations are exposed to misuse of any system including internet by the employees and other users. Increased number of internet users in the workplace means that cases of internet misuse will increase and any business will face more risks and loss of working hours. Where employees can access any site in the internet and download anything, there are more risks that computer systems are exposed to. It is possible to download files that contain malwares such as viruses and spyware which poses huge risks to computer systems in any business. This calls for a need to have an internet policy that will ensure that any threats posed by internet use to the business systems are minimized and eliminated. The policy is also important to ensure that employees are taught the risks associated with inappropriate use of internet.
Research – literature review.
While embracing the use internet in a business by employees, it is unwise to underrate the potential risks and damaged the organization is exposed to. Despite the many benefits of using internet in business, there have been increasing cases of employees using internet and this has become a serious problem to employers due to various threats involved. Various surveys have offered partial support for such concerns. It has been reported that on average, any employee in United Kingdom spends at least 57 minutes daily surfing the net during working hours. In another research 51.1 percent of the participants reported to using internet in playing video and downloading music, films and personal files (Saraç and Aydem Çiftçioğlu, 3). This research demonstrates that on in two users of the internet in the workplace tends to visit entertainment sites or other activities not related to workplace. There is always the need for protecting both tangible and intangible assets in the organization, in a world where there are many cyber activities that are harmful to business information and employee personal safety.
Where there is no regulation on internet use by employees, the business can be exposed to hackers that are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are constantly creating tools that can penetrate business networks. This will always be to the detriment of the business and its clients. Such hackers may be working on behalf of other parties such as competitors, criminal enterprises or other agencies, but they all have the same aim of gathering as much valuable and essential information as possible(Saraç and Aydem Çiftçioğlu, 5). In fact, various organizations such as Sony and Citibank, which are multinationals, have been victims of such attacks regardless of their size. Therefore, smaller businesses are at more risk of being exposed to such attacks since they do not have massive capital to invest in complex security systems. In addition, most non-work related uses of internet such as downloading files and videos, streaming videos and internet music are costly and bandwidth hogs. While such applications may to have direct cost effect on the business, cumulatively using them can lead to consumption of available bandwidth for the organization.
In addition, there is potential lawsuits and liability that may result from inappropriate internet surfing by employees and such issues are quite real. Lawsuits due to just incident can get the graphic design shop that is currently doing well into legal procedures that drains resources and extend for long periods. Just a single person and using internet can entangle a successive organization into messy litigations that will undermine its growth and profitability. It is obvious that employees in present business environment depend on internet for daily operations and workflow and limiting access can easily impact on productivity (, John, and Loopesko,7). Due to this, the design shop should consider relying on internet in maintaining workflow and seek to reduce and mitigate any risks or threats related to the usage of internet by employees.
Inappropriate surfing is very difficult to classify since what one employee may consider to be right can be viewed as offensive by other employees due to subjectivity inherent nature of determining content that is offensive or inappropriate (Yan, 558). It is therefore wise for the graphic designing shop to restrict the usage of internet by all employees for business functions only. From the legal point of view, adopting such an approach minimizes the liability of the business. In addition, a strategic technician solution should be found that will ensure that a device that is implemented for the purpose of permitting or blocking any traffic to specific websites in the bases of content (Yan, 557). Hence, implementation of a device that can be used to determine the level of appropriateness so as to manage internet access transfers the burden of liability from the business to the provider of such solutions (Yan, 558). The use of a technical solution should be included in the policy, so as to prevent any download of risky files and videos or copyrighted materials from getting into the businesses network.
The case of the graphic design shop
Considering the above review, lack of regulation in the use of internet may present a challenge to the business in regard to malware exposure and litigations. Like any other business that has to rely on internet in ensuring continuous workflow, the graphic design business is not an exceptional and measures have to be taken to develop and enforce such regulations. Theses malware can expose the business’s computer systems to a lot of harm and can also lead to phishing which criminals and unethical business can use in retrieving and valuable information from the business. By directing users into fake sites vital client information and project information may be retrieved by outside parties which can be costly to the business. The different unwanted agents have the potential to drain the productivity of the shop significantly if the internet access is not properly managed.
An infection in the business systems may prevent employees from doing their daily operations and tasks while the process of removing such spam can distract the workflow in the shop. Moreover, inappropriate websites can direct the attention of the employees towards unproductive activities and this will eventually affect the growth and profitability of the business (Yan, 557). The management has to direct workers away from unproductive web surfing and towards tasks that they have been assigned. This will enable the business to prevent issue of litigations emerging from inappropriate web surfing that may infringe on other copyrighted products. Even if such risks are not observed presently in the shop, the can emerge as the business grows and more employees are recruitment to manage increasing operations and hence the need for adopting safety measures.
Recommendations
The graphic design shop should implement a policy for internet usage that will lay down ethical behavior in internet bowing by employees in the office. The policy should embrace a system for threat management which will content filtering so as to ensure employees are not misusing time in visiting inappropriate websites or downloading risky materials. The policy should also involve training employees on risks posed by the internet to valuable business information and operations and the cost of any litigation that may arise from misuse of the internet. Drawing up the policy should involve the various sections in the office and create and mostly involve the input of IT section in ensuring that business information and employees are protected (Yan, 557). Collaboration with employees should be emphasized to ensure that the policy on internet usage is comprehensive and according to the needs of the business and employees.
The content of the policy should include how to use the internet safely, spotting and averting any risks that the business may be exposed to. Specifically, the policy should highlight that should internet should majorly for the purpose of carrying out business operations while allowing personal use only when work and the business at large is not affected. The policy should ensure that employees are taught on the major risks of the web, and how to respond to such risks if noticed. To ensure that the business and its operations are not jeopardized in any way, the business has to consider ways of filtering the content and restricting sites that can be visited by employees. This policy should lay out the consequences of violation but not affect business operations negatively.
References
Saraç, Mehlika, and B. Aydem Çiftçioğlu. "What Do Human Resources Managers Think About the Employee’s Internet Usage?." (2014). 3-6
Yan, Zheng. Encyclopedia of Cyber Behavior. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2012.557-558
Ruhnka, John, and Windham E. Loopesko. "Risk Management Of Email And Internet Use In The Workplace." The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law: JDFSL 8.3 (2013): 7.
