Surfing the net at
work has a downside – the Wi-Fi waves leave behind a lot of muck, claims a
young techie.
BC: Hi, I had sent you an urgent mail regarding my travel
plans. Did you see it?
AD: Sorry, new rules at work. No personal mails allowed…
BC: Surely, you could have checked it on your mobile…
AD: No, I’m not permitted to - it’s for official use only…
BC: Perhaps they’ve got a point. If you keep checking your personal
mail or your Facebook account during working hours, it would definitely affect
office productivity…
AD: Don’t get me started. We’ve been given Blackberries so
that we can be connected to work, 24 x 7. So, if we are expected to work from
home, why can’t we spend a few minutes at work on personal activities?
BC: That’s funny! A couple of years ago, you were shouting
from the rooftops that your company had given you a smartphone and a laptop –
you thought you had arrived in life…
AD: You’re exaggerating – the truth is, you have to take it
when they give it. The least you can do is feel good about it.
BC: But how does checking mail on a phone compromise office
security?
AD: If your phone gets infected and if you try to connect it
to a network or transfer a file, you’ve provided an opening for an attack…
BC: See, I’ve always cautioned you about technology, but…
AD: Why blame technology for faulty workplace policies?
BC: Because in our times, chat sessions were typically
around the water cooler – and they couldn’t stop us from drinking water.
AD: Well, things have changed for the better…
BC: Really? What about this sudden change at your workplace?
AD: It began with an employee opening a forward – the
attachment let loose some kind of virus into the network.
BC: And…?
AD: The server crashed, a lot of files were lost and…
BC: …your company lost a lot of money.
AD: And a major client too.
BC: But I thought you guys had…
AD: Yes, firewalls, internet security, antivirus – we have
the works…
BC: But are they enough to solve this problem?
AD: Why do you ask that?
BC: A nephew of mine was working in a multimedia firm where most
sites were blocked. The young kids there took it as a challenge to unearth
newer mail services and social networking sites on a regular basis…
AD: That’s not right. Imagine if this were to happen in a
bank. An unsolicited mail that is opened or an infected USB that is plugged
into a system can create unimaginable havoc…
BC: So what’s the solution?
AD: Security measures can work only when employees are careful
about what they do online.
BC: But this kind of carelessness is normally displayed by
junior employees – and in most cases, they have little or no access to
classified information…
AD: Well, each organization uses the latest technology to
turn its network into a fortress. But the minute someone like my friend at the workplace
lets in a virus or worm, the walls of the ‘fortress’ end up being easily
penetrated. So it really doesn’t matter who opens the door, the horse is sure
to bolt…
BC: Or the Trojan horse is sure to come in...
AD: Right!
BC: The horse could well bolt, but it looks like office security
is finding itself stuck between two walls…
AD: I don’t understand…
BC: A firewall on one side and Facebook’s wall on the other
– I’m not surprised that office security is nowhere to be seen.
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