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Stupid Human Tricks: 11 Dumb Things Employees Do With Technology

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Stupid Human Tricks: 11 Dumb Things Employees Do With Technology

By Don Reisinger on 2011-07-18

Workers, regardless of the industry or country, typically take the technologies provided to them by IT and engage in activities that would make even the most laid-back CIO cringe. Whether it’s allowing other people to use their company computer, or forgetting to change passwords, employees are engaging in behaviors that put your company’s sensitive data at risk. Here are the 11 dumbest (and most worrisome) activities that your employees are likely doing with company-provided technology on any given day. As you share this, you'll do well to remind your workers that bad tech behavior speaks volumes about the kind of people we really are.

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Where’s the Password?

One of the first rules of PC, smartphone, or tablet protection is using a password to access it. The only issue is, employees don’t often use passwords on their devices, making it easy for anyone to pick up a platform and see what they can find.

Stupid Human Tricks: 11 Dumb Things Employees Do With Technology - IT Management

Oh, My Passwords Are All the Same

Employees are notorious for using the same password for all their accounts. So, the password they're using to log into their computer probably matches the password they're using for e-mail, enterprise applications, and even their bank account. Oh, the humanity.

Should I Click This Link?

Employees seemingly have a desire to open e-mails and click on just about any link without worry about what might happen when they do so.

But I Can Win $10,000!

If you haven’t been using aggressive spam filters, beware that your employees might fall for spam or phishing scams that offer special prizes and easy money. If they fall for those traps, the security of your network could be compromised.

Who Needs This Hardware Lock?

If your employees are on-the-go, you may provide a lock that allows them to chain a device to some kind of immovable object to prevent theft. Don't bother. Employees rarely use such devices, and when they do, chances are they'll hook them up to easily movable objects.

Policy? What Policy?

You probably have social-media and smartphone-use policies in place at your office. Do you know if your worker have ever read those policies and followed them? If you have policies, make sure there are consequences when employees fail to comply.

Trust, But Verify? No Thanks.

Employees believe that if a friend sends them a link on Facebook or over IM, it must be safe. There’s no telling whether that friend’s computer has been compromised by malware or if their account has been hacked. Verifying over the Web is always a good idea, but most employees rarely do this.

I’m A Downloading Machine!

We know you'd love to block employees from being able to download anything without your permission, but that's just not realistic. Employees will always find ways to get new apps on their mobile devices or games on their PCs. There's no way to know if the respective programs aren’t carrying with them a malicious payload.

There Must Be A Way Around This Filter!

You’re likely filtering Web traffic in your company to ensure employees are not surfing sites that would cause trouble for your company. Employees like to try and find ways around those filters, and in the process, they'll go to drastic measures that cause even more problems. Filtering content is a double-edged sword, unfortunately.

Social Networks Are Always Safe

There's an impression among employees that anything they might come across on sites such as Facebook and Twitter is safe. It isn’t. You’ll need to make that clear.

Backup? Tomorrow

If you can’t force automatic backups from your employees’ computers and mobile devices, and you rely upon them to backup, you’ll quickly find that they rarely do so. In fact, there is a general mentality out there that they can backup “tomorrow.” Disaster awaits.

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IT Management Slideshow:Stupid Human Tricks: 11 Dumb Things Employees Do With Technology