Telecommuting confronts Privacy and Security Risks
A total of 73 corporate and government establishments in 10 industries in the United States, Canada and Europe took part in the survey organized to distinguish the prevailing state of privacy and security considerations in work-from-home arrangements. As more employees do work remotely from home, personal and private information associated both employees and employers may be compromised if privacy and security risks are not administered with effectively. Study findings also indicate that employers do not fully recognize and handle the privacy and security matters, resulting organizations defenseless to certain financial and reputational hazards. Many firms allow telecommuters to manage personal information at home, only half of the survey respondents said they deal this subject with conventional policies and training. Telecommuters use their own personal computers and PDAs for work purposes; the hard drive and email encryption tools found ordinarily on employer devices are little help.