Computer surveillance in the workplace refers to the issues related to the element of employee monitoring and workplace surveillance in which an employer engages in actively monitoring the usage of a company owned computer or terminal by an employee.
Computer surveillance may also refer to the use of computers to assist in monitoring more traditional security applications like video surveillance using Closed-circuit television or IP camera based systems.
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Based on the technology and methods used, computer monitoring can track all activity or a specific type of activity on a company computer or terminal and can monitor devices installed on the computer (e.g., web cameras and microphones).
Tools used for monitoring employee computer usage incorporate one or more of the following types of monitoring:
Internet surveillance is the monitoring of Internet data traffic, web access, and other online activity. This may include monitoring any Internet traffic including encrypted web browser traffic on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections, personal web-based email, and personal banking sites.
This type of monitoring is generally allowed where the employer owns the computers, terminals, network, and Internet access. Depending on the country or legal jurisdiction and the specific methods of surveillance used, there may be additional requirements to notify the employee of the monitoring or monitoring policy to be legal.
Labor union contracts and other forms of employment agreements may offer some protection from monitoring. Additionally, in the United States, public sector employees may have some protection under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Employees in California may have additional protection under specific portions of state statue. [1]
Employers may be required to maintain documentation of emails and other communications for regulatory or compliance purposes. The monitoring of email and instant messaging communications may be part of these requirements.
Some software used for this type of surveillance may impose additional restrictions or notification requirements based on their End User License Agreement (EULA). For example, Spectorsoft requires that employees have signed a contract stating that their computer activity may be monitored when they were employed. Additional legal issues may arise if information obtained from the monitoring is used for illegal or malicious purposes.[2]
In organizations without stated computer usage or monitoring policy, employees typically use the company computer at their respective discretion and, in most cases, there may be no visible restrictions or monitoring of the activities performed on this computer. The use of computer surveillance within the employee discipline or evaluation process may be seen by employees as an invasion of privacy or a lack of trust.
by ABILASH PALUKUZHI