The spying game.
| Author | Shabi, Rachel |
It's easy to dismiss managers who whinge on about staff wasting time surfing the internet and stealing the odd pencil as paranoid, but fraud is a major issue. Rachel Shabi draws the fine line between responsible caution and Big Brother-style intrusion
Employees are so devious, aren't they? If they re not planning their next holiday over the internet, they're wasting time e-mailing jokes to their mates. And if they're not currently on-line, the chances are they're working out other ways to rip you off -- whether by embezzling millions or just by ransacking the stationery cupboard.
This may sound like the ramblings of a paranoid control freak, but the exaggeration masks a serious issue. In a working environment of delayered management and easy-access information systems, how do companies protect themselves against abuse by staff?
The most notorious form of abuse, highlighted in such high-profile cases as the Nick Leeson scandal at Barings Bank, is fraud. But beyond such famous examples, fraud is a surprisingly widespread problem -- the annual cost in the UK is estimated at between 5 billion [pounds sterling] and 20 billion [pounds sterling].
Andrew Durant, partner in the fraud unit at Arthur Andersen, says that firms have started taking fraud a lot more seriously over the past year. "Historically, companies have backed away from reporting fraud, fearing embarrassment to directors and shareholders, but that attitude has changed, he says. He points out that three cases in a row have been reported recently, whereas in the past this would probably happen three times over five years.
General population profiles show that 25 per cent of people will commit fraud, whatever the circumstances, and 25 per cent wouldn't dream of it, regardless of circumstances. That leaves 50 per cent who could go either way depending on their situation (floating frandsters?). This shows that there is a substantial potential for fraud in any company.
"In our experience," Durant says, "75 per cent of fraud is by senior managers. These people have the opportunities and axe in a position of power, so their decisions are unlikely to be challenged."
So fraud is an everyday, real issue and not just movie material. Meanwhile, over in cyberland, things are just as serious. One of the main concerns with the on-line working environment is now termed "cyberslacking".
According to Websense Inc, providers of employee internet management solutions, a staggering 60 per cent of all...
To continue reading
Request your trialCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
