If your business loans computers to your
employees under the Home Computing
Initiative, allow your employees to use
work laptops at home, or provide a work
computer for a homeworking employee;
then you need to be aware of your
liabilities for inappropriate use.
If
a member of your staff or even their
family stores illegal or inappropriate
software or information on a work
owned/loaned pc then it is you who will
be deemed liable.
Research carried out by FAST Corporate
Services has found that as many as 66
per cent of businesses surveyed are
unaware of their liabilities.
"The HCI undoubtedly has many benefits
for companies in improving employee
skill sets and supporting flexible
working programmes," commented Chris
Minchin, membership manager at FAST
Corporate Services. "However,
businesses need to be aware that, during
the lease period, the equipment still
technically belongs to the company,
along with the responsibility for any
unlicensed or inappropriate use of the
PC."
"The easiest way for businesses to
address corporate responsibility for the
loaned devices is to ensure that all
users of the scheme sign a comprehensive
agreement governing their use of the
PC," continued Minchin. "Not only this,
but if an employee is using the computer
to log onto the company network they
should also sign policies to reflect
mobile security concerns, making them
aware of the risks associated with
wireless connection. All users should
also be made aware of threats such as
spam, spy-ware and identity theft, with
training provided if required."
