Social Media Porn - Not Just An Online Issue

Facebook has responded to complaints that thousands of pornographic and violent images flooded their social network over the weekend. The graphic images which appeared randomly to users, hit FB pages on Monday with some attacks requiring unsuspecting users to click on a message, such as a link to a video. Others come in spam such as mass messages and tagged photos.

Those hacked have had images pop up on their news feeds and within their messages while the spam is passed onto their friends. FB has confirmed that they are investigating reports of the graphic posts and have taken appropriate action.  As user’s accounts were flooded with highly inappropriate images, news sites reported that users are increasing frustrated with FB for not being able to stop it despite their touted strict controls of what can be posted.

This most recent attack via FB’s social media channel, highlights the damaging, disturbing and frequent misuse of pornographic images online and within the workplace environment.  A common misconception is that most of this activity goes on in homes.  Yet, according to the Society of Human Resources Management, approx. 70% of internet porn traffic occurs during working hours. There is clear evidence that many people are spending time at work looking at illegal or pornographic images and that the activity can become addictive.

Earlier this year, twenty four SEC Securities and Exchange Commission employees at seven US office locations were disciplined for accessing pornography sites on government computers.  The SEC's Office of Inspector General disclosed that 33 employees and contractors had been investigated for viewing porn or sexually explicit websites and images.  Many were senior-level attorneys and accountants, with 17 of them earning annual salaries ranging from $99,356 to $222,418. The bulk of the cases occurred between 2008 and 2009, leading to criticism that the SEC missed signs of the near collapse of the banking system and massive investment frauds due in part, because its top enforcers were too busy surfing porn at work.

This is not an isolated event with many incidents of workplace internet misuse frequently reported in the media:  Xerox, The New York Times, The Canadian Department of Fisheries & Oceans, Dow Chemicals Co, Compaq Computer Co. and many others have had to suspend or fire employees over the issue of Internet abuse. A high proportion of these cases have involved the circulation of pornographic material, which leaves the company exposed to considerable liability and reputational damage.

Existing legislation in the UK is clear, company directors and the managers they appoint can be held personally liable if negligence is found in the management of data and images on company computers. Neglect is defined simply as a failure to take appropriate steps to prevent an incident happening. Prosecution can be carried out under various pieces of legislation including Child Trafficking and Pornography Acts, Sexual Offences Acts, Obscene Publications Acts and Civil and Human Rights Acts.

Yet in a previous surveys conducted by PixAlert and The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, over 50% or managers were unaware of this risk. While the main focus of UK legislation is on cracking down on new material being downloaded from Internet sites, illicit images are already common on desktops and networks and there is a myriad of ways they can get there.

Typically, a computer will have conventional points of entry such as CD/DVD, digital devices such as USB keys, digital cameras, mobile phones, discs, MP3 players, portable hard disks and unsecured wireless networks are commonplace and a breeding ground for distributing and storing porn making it difficult for companies to monitor and control.  Unmonitored laptop activity out of the office is also widespread – a situation that is made worse with unsecured wireless networks. A previous study carried out by PixAlert highlighted that an alarming 68% of companies said that they have not deployed a desktop technology to counteract these increased threats.

Many organisations that want to protect themselves and their employees from the effects of illegal and inappropriate content have deployed web filtering technology at the gateway with a list of prohibited sites.  All web traffic is filtered and access is denied to anything on the banned list. One clear problem with this method is that the dynamic nature of the web means it is impossible to keep a complete and up to date list of harmful sites. Furthermore, these standard web filtering methods can easily be bypassed through the use of secure Internet proxys, embedded content and file encryption.

Although legislation helps to heighten awareness and deter unacceptable image misuse behaviour, the only way to reduce corporate exposure and stop illicit images in the workplace is by monitoring what people are actually looking at on the desktops and auditing corporate IT assets in order to find and remove legacy material.

There is no doubt that any new proposals within existing legislation is a positive step and could be a useful deterrent, but this needs to be combined with greater awareness and use of preventative technologies and policy within the workplace. It is important to recognise that the key issue is in the nature of the content and not where it was accessed. This is not just a web or social media problem,  pornographic and illegal images can originate from many sources and if distributed within the workplace can have detrimental legal and reputational implications for the organisation concerned.

About PixAlert
With a growing and constant challenge of protecting corporate reputation, brand integrity and employees against the risk of misuse of inappropriate imagery and exposure of sensitive critical data on networks, PixAlert is providing pioneering security software to help manage and protect network systems.  PixAlert latest scanning detection technologies helps organisations save time and energy while significantly reducing costs by supplying best practice security solutions which comply with legislation, enforce corporate policies, enhance working environments and protect against legal proceedings and brand damage. 

For further information is available at www.pixalert.com or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Author: Niamh Hayes, Marketing Advisor, PixAlert - November 2011