IM Bans Hush Workplace Chatter

Wired

September 17, 2002

In the workplace it often seems inevitable that upper management will react to a revolutionary new technology by labeling it risky or counterproductive.

In the case of instant messaging — perhaps the fastest-growing application to hit the corporate desktop — many employers are finding themselves particularly uneasy about the popular app’s potential for wreaking havoc.

To quell their anxieties, a growing number are telling employees to lay off IM entirely.

“The greatest concern that I hear is that it’s uncontrollable,” said Richard Stiennon, research director for network security at Gartner. He estimates that about 30 percent of companies he is in contact with actively block access to instant messaging.

Another 20 percent or so are reconsidering their once open-minded policies toward free IM programs like MSN Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger, Stiennon said.

Although some companies complain that employees constantly gabbing on IM hampers productivity, a more common concern is that IM programs render their networks vulnerable to viruses and other potentially crippling intrusions.

Security was the main sticking point for Electronic Data Systems (EDS), for example, when the technology services firm decided in July to prohibit IM on its networks.

Paul Clark, the executive in charge of security and privacy at EDS, said he evaluated a number of IM programs that offered more security than the free versions, but didn’t find any that were quite up to snuff.

“Currently they do not have anything like the security investments that companies like EDS invest in their own enterprises,” he said.

Clark said EDS also decided not to develop its own internal IM system for the time being, reasoning that e-mail works well for communication between its 140,000 employees.

Companies concerned about viruses and hacker attacks are well-advised to take a hard look at their IM use policy, particularly for free applications, said Michael Osterman, of consulting firm Osterman Research.

Opening an IM window creates a port to the outside world, putting a network at risk of attack from malicious hackers exploiting unpatched holes in instant-messaging applications. Because message exchanges are not encrypted, confidential information could also fall into the wrong hands.

But while blocking IM may be good for security, it’s often bad for workplace morale, Osterman said. As more cubicle-bound workers come to rely on instant messaging to keep in touch with friends and family during the workday, they’re apt to be resentful if management pulls the plug.

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