5 years ago… Board directors bury heads in the sand over email use

15.03.99: Over 40 per cent of UK companies have no clear policy on staff email or internet use, despite the fact employees are spending up to five hours a day on the net.

An Integralis survey of senior directors in 800 FTSE-1000 companies released today revealed that many are failing to take even the most basic precautions to protect themselves from internet related litigation.

Fifteen per cent of directors admitted they had disciplined staff for using the web inappropriately, while 22 per cent said they had been forced to take action because of unsuitable emails. Four per cent of respondents said they had discovered employees breaking data protection laws by passing on personal information in emails.

Integralis stressed that email and website contents could also lead to charges of racial and sexual harassment, libel and breach of copyright.

The survey also revealed that many directors are unwilling to take responsibility. Forty per cent of respondents thought the board should be accountable, 31 per cent said the IT department should take responsibility and a further 17 per cent thought their human resources department should take action.

The network security firm is advising board directors to create clear written guidelines on email and net usage, and then make sure they are enforced.

15.03.04: It didn't take long after a few high-profile and embarrassing stories made it out into the press for companies to begin to take this seriously.

Not only can breaches of email policy open companies up to litigation but they can make for very embarrassing situations for the individuals involved. Have another look at our digital blunders series to see the scrapes silicon.com readers have got themselves into by hitting 'reply to all' by mistake.