Saying Internet porn on the job is behind most cases of information technology fraud and abuse by public workers, British watchdog The Audit Commission has called for a crackdown on workplace porn.
The group issued survey results this week saying 52 percent of such workplace fraud and abuse between 2001 and 2004 were caused by staffers accessing adult websites or other "inappropriate" online materials, a 13 percent hike over the group's last such survey four years earlier.
The Audit Commission study said accessing porn may not affect the business at hand but managers needed to take it more seriously.
"At one level such abuse may be reflected in significant time-wasting but at another may well involve serious criminal activity and management should not dismiss such threats," reads part of the report, "An Update on ICT Fraud and Abuse 2004." "Management needs to be unambiguous in what it regards as unacceptable behavior and ensure that the relevant polices and standards are clearly communicated to staff."
The group also said bids by public agencies to stop workers from reaching porn or other "inappropriate" sites were hampered by failure to update blocking software given that new such sites turn up almost every day.
"New sites appear on a daily basis and users, if so inclined, can find and retrieve material relatively easily making management's task quite challenging," the report continues.
The Audit Commission polled 400 public sector organizations and identified a reported 200 fraud and abuse cases. Audit Commission chief Steve Bundred said fraud and abuse risks remain high especially with new devices like handheld devices and the wireless Internet.
"ICT security is only as effective as the staff within the organization, and too often we are finding that staff are unsure of their role," Bundred told reporters. "If we fail to get this right we risk eroding the confidence of citizens in the electronic systems that underpin public services."
Workplace porn and online fraud and abuse have become a more watched phenomenon in recent months in Britain and the U.S. During May, 10 Arizona Department of Economic Security Child Protective Services workers were disciplined for Internet or email abuse over the previous three months, though specifics weren't disclosed.
The so-called "octopus porn" incident was also reported in May: seven workers at a Dagenham, England, Ford plant were suspended for watching an Internet video showing a naked woman engaged in sexual activity with an octopus.
At the same time, former University of Texas Health Science Center auditor Cynthia Davis sued the institution, claiming she was forced to resign after she blew the whistle on school employees watching Internet porn on the job two years ago.
