Below is part of a commentary from John Farris, Secretary of the Kentucky Finance Cabinet, which appeared in the Herald Leader on Monday.
“According to the Gartner Group, non-work related Internet surfing results in up to a 40 percent loss in productivity each year at American businesses.
For example, in April 2003, the state Auditor of Public Accounts found that Transportation Cabinet computers were used 6,000 times to visit and view pornographic Web sites or images during a four-day test period.
Auditors also found that French hackers had used the Transportation Cabinet's computer system to store and distribute pirated movies, CDs, DVDs, and new computer games; to post and distribute pirated copyrighted French medical textbooks; and to host Internet chat rooms.”
The last two statements are close to being true, more on that later. I know they are reasonably accurate because I was the Chief Information Officer for the Auditor’s Office when these things were found.
A couple of thoughts about Farris reaching back over three years to come up with an example of employee wrong doing and lax computer security.
First, what have you guys been doing in the last three years other than make employees sign a promise to be good?
“Since that time, state employees have been required to sign and submit an "Acceptable Use Policy," which details the appropriate use of computers and the Internet for work-related purposes. They sign this agreement at the time of their initial employment and periodically thereafter.”
If that was working why do you have to monitor the web usage?
And second, I don’t have a lot of faith in the technical expertise of this crew when they can’t even do an electronic transfer and get it right. Child Support doesn’t run its own computer system, that puppy is owned, lock, stock and barrel by the Finance Cabinet.
Now back to why two statements above are mostly correct. No auditor ever found these problems; this is the guy that found the problems.
But I guess he hasn’t been available do this sort of thing lately, he’s been too busy working for Attorney General on a case that has got some media play and writing a little software too.
