New Developments

In New Developments, internal auditors will find information about the most recent IT and audit research reports and survey results; new IT, security, and privacy legislation; and other news items of importance to auditors.

E-surveillance Is on the Rise, According to Survey

Nearly 60 percent of employers have fired workers for e-mail and Internet abuse, says the 2007 Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance Survey by the American Management Association, a professional development firm, and The ePolicy Institute, an electronic risk consulting organization. More than 300 U.S. companies in industry sectors such as retail, wholesale, financial services, and manufacturing participated in the survey to discuss the different tools and techniques used in ensuring and monitoring compliance with e-mail and Internet use policies and procedures.

According to the study, employers are primarily concerned with inappropriate Web surfing — 66 percent of surveyed companies monitor Internet connections and 65 percent use software to block connections to inappropriate Web sites. This represents a 27 percent increase since 2001 when the first monitoring and surveillance survey was conducted. Companies that block access to certain Web sites are mostly concerned about employees visiting:

  • Adult sites with sexual, romantic, or pornographic content (96 percent).
  • Game Web sites (61 percent).
  • Social networking sites (50 percent).
  • Entertainment sites (40 percent).
  • Shopping and auction sites (27 percent).
  • Sports sites (21 percent).

"Concern over litigation and the role electronic evidence plays in lawsuits and regulatory investigations has spurred more employers to monitor online activity," says Nancy Flynn, executive director of The ePolicy Institute. "Data security and employee productivity concerns also motivate employers to monitor Web and e-mail use and content." Because e-mail and other digitally stored information create written business records that are the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence, Flynn adds, "companies should take advantage of monitoring and blocking technology to battle people problems, including the accidental and intentional misuse of computer systems and other electronic resources."

While monitoring takes many forms, the most common surveillance tactics include tracking online content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard (45 percent); storing and reviewing computer files (43 percent); using URL blocks to stop employees from visiting external blogs (18 percent); visiting blogs to see what is written about the company (12 percent); and monitoring social networking sites (10 percent). In terms of e-mail, 43 percent of companies surveyed monitor incoming and outgoing e-mails, and of this percentage, approximately 75 percent use technology tools to automatically monitor e-mail, while 40 percent manually read and review e-mails.

Besides e-mail and online activity, companies monitor telephone conversations and voice mails and use video equipment and global positioning system (GPS) technology for surveillance of company property. For example:

  • 52 percent use smart card technology to control physical security and access to buildings and data centers.
  • 48 percent use video monitoring to counter theft of company resources, violence in the workplace, and sabotage of property and assets.
  • 45 percent monitor time spent on the telephone and numbers dialed.
  • 11 percent use GPS to track company vehicles and monitor cell phones.
  • 9 percent monitor employee voice mail messages.
  • 7 percent use video surveillance to track employee performance.
  • 6 percent have fired employees for misuse or private use of office telephones.
  • 6 percent record phone conversations.

For more information about the survey, visit the American Management Association's Web site.