| Here are some statistics
from a recent industry survey:
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Two-thirds of employees with Internet access
admit to using it for personal diversion during working hours. Related
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At work, 30%-40% of Internet time is
spent on non-work-related browsing, and 60% of all online purchases are made
during working hours.
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Seventy percent of all Internet porn traffic occurs
during the 9-5 workday.
In short, up to 40% of lost productivity can now be
blamed on computer abuse. But lost productivity isn't the only problem.
Unauthorized Internet access increases your vulnerability to viruses, worms,
and trojans, which can shut down your entire network. In addition, you could
be held liable for harassing or obscene e-mails sent by employees from your
computers. This has happened to several large corporations already. On top of
that, an estimated 80% of computer crime, such as embezzlement and theft of
intellectual property, is committed by "insiders"--that is, employees working
within the victimized companies, on company time. Advertisement "Outsiders"
can be a problem too.
If your office runs an unsecured wireless network,
anyone with even a marginal command of network mechanics can easily gain
access to your practice finances, your patients' medical records--anything
running on your computers. An increasingly popular "hobby," practiced by
everyone from curious teens to professional thieves, involves "cruising"
around office buildings and business districts with a wireless-equipped
laptop, looking for vulnerable wireless networks to access. Some mischievous
geeks don't even settle for "listening in." Hackers can now imitate access
points. Wireless, by design, will always connect with the strongest signal it
detects, even if that means abandoning a secure connection. It's easy to see
how that could play havoc with your electronic claims processing,
e-prescribing, and more. If you have an application service provider (ASP)
system, where your medical records are stored electronically on an offsite
server, such potential security breaches are an even bigger issue, for both
patient confidentiality and general efficiency.
So it behooves you to pay
close attention to how your computer network is set up and how your computers
are used on your time. Start with computer monitoring software. Several
reasonably priced programs are available. They automatically and discreetly
record everything done on a computer, including Internet activity, chat
rooms, instant messages, and Web sites. Examples include Snapshot Spy
(www.snapshotspy.com), Spector Pro (www.spectorsoft.com), and SoftProbe
Analyzer (www.softprobe.com). (I have no financial interest in any of the
companies or products that I'm discussing here.) Monitoring software runs
quietly in the background and cannot be detected by users, but I strongly
advise informing your employees that their computer use is being monitored
for their safety as well as yours. It's best to be straightforward about such
things. This is not a privacy issue.
You have a right to know how your
equipment is being used, and whether restrictions on its use are being
followed. You also have a right to know if illegal activities are being
carried out, or if abusive or damaging communications are originating in your
office. Some offices provide a separate, non-network computer for employees'
private use on their own time, to discourage misuse of the main system.
Obviously, such a machine cannot and should not be monitored. Protecting your
network from unauthorized access and signal diversion is a more complicated
issue. For starters, don't use the default system ID, since any hacker can
find that in the user's manual. Change it to something unique--not your
birthday or your pet's name. Disable "identifier broadcasting," which
announces to the world that you have a wireless connection. Enable any
encryption supplied with your network, and get more if you need it. (See
below.) Configure your router to allow only incoming or outgoing traffic that
you have approved.
Depending on the complexity of your network, you may need
more sophisticated protection, such as AirDefense (www.airdefense.net),
CRYPTOCard (www.cryptocard.com), or LucidLink (www.lucidlink.com). All of
your computers, including private ones, need personal firewall software such
as Zone Alarm Pro (www.zonelabs.com) and good antivirus, antispyware, and
antiadware protection, updated frequently. And change your administrator
password often--at a minimum, everytime an employee leaves your employ for
any reason.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYD/is_10_40/ai_n13806922
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