Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Text Message Monitoring
Source: Alana Semuels,
"I'm an employer, and I do not approve of this text message,"
Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2008.
Alana Semuels of the L.A. Times reports that employers are starting to install software that can monitor, filter and block text messages sent on company phones. The article discusses Onset Technology's METAmessage Advanced Compliance Tool:
"We scan and block text messages so the company makes sure there are no text messages going out that violate company policy," said Zack Silvinger, the company's vice president of business development and marketing.This "Advanced Compliance Tool" can be used to safe guard data and prevent leaks as well as for surveillance of employees. There is another company is selling a similar software to parents so that they can read their children's text messages and block messages from unwanted senders.
That means if your company has decided that curse words, sexually explicit words, or even the word "beer" aren't acceptable, you'll be thwarted every time you try to send a text message with banned words on it. What's more, your message will be sent to the human resources department. Yikes!
Labels: Cell Phones, SMS, surveillance
Comments:
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Hi, I represent Onset and can assure you the intent is NOT to spy on employees but to keep companies covered on compliance so they don't get sued for huge sums for violating laws. That said, from a user perspective some common sense is applicable: just like work email accounts, any mobile device you get for work purposes belongs to the company, and users shouldn't treat them as their personal device.
Thanks for the input Mateo, you are right: mobile devices that belong to your employer are fair game for corporate monitoring so that the corporation can "cover" itself, so watch what you text!
Monitoring or spying, clearly there is little privacy left in the work place.
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Monitoring or spying, clearly there is little privacy left in the work place.
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