Corporate war on Pornography/Paedophilia in the workplace
The acceleration of the use of technology in the workplace has led to an explosion in the growth of some of the less desirable, even ugly, by-products of our modern society. We see reported each day an ever increasing number of incidents of computers in the workplace being misused for either illegal and/or inappropriate purposes particularly for viewing and storing of Pornographic and sometimes Paedophile images.
As the law differs from country to country there is not a uniform set of rules which can be applied globally. There is, however, general agreement by most countries that the protection of children is important and that the specific area of paedophilia is unacceptable and illegal. The age at which the law is applied varies from country to country. In the UK it is illegal to view or store a computer image of a child under 16 years of age in a sexually explicit pose. In Ireland it is 17 years and in Korea it is 13 years.
Regardless of whether a company is aware or not, its directors and senior management are open to the risk of criminal prosecution. There is an established basis that the company own the computers and therefore own the data and images on them. If such an incident occurs within an organisation it can become a very costly and time-consuming experience.
Even where an image found is not illegal it may be deemed inappropriate and expose the company to a civil claim or a case of 'Sexual Harassment'. While the law is not black and white in this area it is accepted that employers must provide 'a sexual harassment free environment to employees'.
The company, its directors and managers are obliged to demonstrate that they have made every effort to manage/prevent illegal and inappropriate images in the workplace.
BioObservation Systems (BOS) having worked for a number of years with Police Forces, apply Computer Image Analysis technology to aid with the identification of Pornographic and Paedophile images on suspect computers. They have now adapted the technology for use in the corporate environment.
The development is a much-needed break through for companies who up until now have relied mainly on text filtering, internet site blocking and firewalls to protect their environments. While each has a role to play none has been effective at preventing illegal or inappropriate images getting into workplace computers. Evidence now exists which points to a huge increase in use of CD and DVD as means of circulating images. The quality of the images are higher. The availability and affordability of CD & DVD read/writers means possession is no longer the reserve of specialist organisations. Traditional blocking, filtering and firewall systems have been internet only focused. In the past to achieve effective blocking of unwanted material from the internet would have meant a virtual closing down of normal internet use. In that case, the benefits of the internet to an organisation could have been lost.
BOS's new product 'PixAlert"' for the corporate market has been designed to allow the benefit of full use of all technologies and can monitor all images viewed throughout the organisation. The software in real-time analyses the image and applies a 'Probability of Pornographic Content' rating, with particular sensitivities to paedophile material. If the software detects material with a 'High Probability Rating' the system will alert a designated officer within the organisation. This can be done either with or without the knowledge of the users, depending on local procedures. From the trained administrators workstation the designated officer can view the number of 'High Probability ' hits for each machine and/or user. The system will also allow a 'thumbnail' of the image, which caused the alert to be viewed. Should the company then decide that they might have an incident requiring further investigation they can carry out a full audit of the images stored on the suspect system including temporary internet files. The analysis is carried out quickly with little impact on performance. The found images are presented in a user friendly gallery format showing the highest probability rated images first. The company can then document their findings in a case file while maintaining a full audit-trail.
The new 'PixAlert"' system is proving to be very useful in giving companies, both directors and employees protection from unwanted legal exposure. Customers have expressed delight with the new system and have reported that it allows Directors demonstrate that they have made best endeavours to manage their environments using the combination of 'deploying best technology' and 'implementing appropriate procedures'. Employees too have given positive feedback of their satisfaction with the deployment of the system.
The challenge for BOS is to identify suitable distribution partners in different international or niche markets to promote and distribute the 'PixAlert"' product offering.
For Product Enquiries or details of our Partner Programme
Contact: Dave Mc Loughlin
Tel: or e-mail
View our websites www.pixalert.com or www.bos.ie
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