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Remote workers far more likely to visit "inappropriate websites"  

New research has confirmed what most people knew anyway - that many "remote workers" are visiting dodgy websites using company laptops.

You'd hope that with IT Contractors being so technically aware, that these "dramatic findings" apply to non-IT people!

Scansafe has found that remote laptop users are much more likely to visit porn sites, extreme websites and other questionable content on the web, potentially putting themselves and their bosses at risk of legal liability and exposure to so-called malware, such as viruses.

In the UK, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that more than six million Britons work from home or other locations away from the office on a regular basis. As a result, businesses up and down the country are now recognising that remote workforces are fast becoming one of the biggest loopholes in their company security policy.

Spencer Parker at ScanSafe said:

"What is surprising is that there is such a huge increase in visits to what most firms would deem highly offensive web sites, and in some cases, illegal content. If employees are using a company laptop to download illegal music files from home, their bosses may be liable. Staff assume their web habits away from the office are unsupervised, however, the problem is that no matter where they are working, they could be putting their company at risk."


Published on Apr 16, 2008


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