March 24, 2008
After Finding Widespread Porn-Site Use, University IT Staffer Says She Was Forced Out
Snooping isn’t as fun as you might think. Perhaps the one thing college IT staffers like least about their jobs is when they are ordered to see if faculty or staff members are visiting Web sites forbidden by college policy, such as porn sites.
Technology auditor Cynthia Davis had to do that at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston back in 2003, and told officials that at least 300 university employees were surfing X-rated Web sites. This weekend the Austin American-Statesman reported that the health center fired one employee and placed a written reprimand in the personnel files of nine others.
But Ms. Davis alleges the real retaliation was directed against her. In a lawsuit against the health center, she contends she was pressured to leave her job late in 2003 because of her investigation. Officials vehemently deny that.
The litigation continues. Meanwhile the health center has issued new and stringent guidelines about computer use, including a prohibition against viewing obscene material. —Josh Fischman
Posted on Monday March 24, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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“Controlled” audits by UT System and their componets is not a new story. This has been happening for many years,or at least since Charlie Chaffin became director of the UT System Audit Department.UT Houston Health Science Center had discovered,in this audit,over 300 emplooyees viewing pornography on their university computers but decided they “couldn’t fire 300 people”. Why did they fire one of they couldn’t fire 300? The university oversight by internal auditors,both system and university auditors, is selective and never independent.It’s more political than factual.If the lawsuit had no merit, it would have been dismissed.The sad thing is that Texas taxpayers will be paying for the the defense through the Texas Attorney General’s Office.A double whammy.
— Brent Mar 24, 02:00 PM #
So much for academic freedom, eh?
Seriously, as long as people do their jobs, who cares?
— Sol Mar 24, 05:05 PM #
I define “porn” as that which comes down from our VPAA’s office. Maybe I will be okay if I simply do not look at it.
— Landrum Kelly Mar 24, 05:19 PM #
It is interesting to see how many top administrators misuse the computers. I found that many administrators use computers to see and collect data that has nothing to do with academic duties. Unfortunately, only a few that are not liked by the administrators will be punished.
— kvc Mar 24, 05:27 PM #
What about ebay? Is buying and selling on ebay a terminal offense? Etrade? Other internet addictions that are completely unrelated to work?
If it offends those around the user, sure I can see firing them, but done in privacy? I just don’t get it. So many equally unproductive uses of the internet go unpunished, but anything that offends the Victorian sensitivities administrators pretend to have leads to termination? I don’t see how viewing porn interferes with job performance any more than the more polite internet addictions.
— erroneousjaxxon Mar 24, 05:32 PM #
Sometimes, what appears to be a porn site visit may be simply a mistake. I like to cook and was asked for a good recipie for baked chicken breasts. I told the person that there was a very nice one available on www.mayo.com. He misunderstood me to say www.man.com and brought up a male-to-male porn site. It just so happened that it was also at the time when our University president was “hot” to publish an executive order forbidding such traffic; so, what appeard to be an infraction was really a simple error that would probably be tracked as the former and treated accordingly.
— Tom Mar 24, 05:49 PM #
I define “porn” as that which comes down from our VPAA’s office. Maybe I will be okay if I simply do not look at it.
_________________________________________
I adopted this strategy and my attitude improved considerably!
— TRB Mar 24, 07:10 PM #
It’s the university’s network and computers.
— billso Mar 24, 10:25 PM #
Just because something is your job does not mean it is not evil or completely stupid. Having something required in a “job” does not absolve one from basic commonsense and responsibility. Indeed, nearly every job I ever had was completely stupid and therefore, immediately ignored by me while I spent my first months at work inventing a much much better “job” to persuade the bozos upstairs to “get” from me for the same or triple the pay. In every case my proposed new job was vastly better for everyone. You have got to get the meekness and subservience out of the American character and start generating courageous people who question how the world is structured and what people somewhere call a “job”. People lacking this kind of courage and commonsense might as well be let go—they lack the minimal levels of responbility to be in any system. I know this sounds harsh but life is short and billions of humans are in need.
— Richard Tabor Greene Mar 25, 07:15 AM #
Easter Sunday I answered emails and wrote two memoranda. I was corresponding with a visiting speaker at 9:00 PM last night. I’m sitting in my office here at 7:25 in the morning reading the Chronicle. When something requiring my attention appears in my in box, I deal with it. Rarely do I take two days off in a row, and no day goes by when I don’t do some kind of “work”. Now if I’m bidding on something on eBay at 2:30 in the afternoon, that’s a violation. So what is it when I’m working on a report at 2:30 in the morning? The fact is, the boundary between my “work” time and my “free” time is pretty fuzzy, and I don’t even have a Blackberry. That is one issue.
The question of what is appropriate and inappropriate for me to be doing while connected to the University network is another issue. We all sign computer use policies when we are hired by the institution. What does it say? Those are the conditions of your work and you agreed to them. If looking at pornography, gambling, sending threatening emails to people or doing work for which you will be paid over and above your institutional salary are proscribed activities, then don’t do them. If you do, and you’re caught, what is an appropriate sanction?
In an ideal world, your employees will act like adults and regulate their behavior within reasonable limits and you, the administrator, will deal with aberrations in a reasonable manner, taking into account that 98% of your employees will not have a clue what the computer use policy says.
— Philip J Tramdack Mar 25, 07:40 AM #
I believe some schools will get themselves into trouble if they fire employees too quickly for “misuse” of the school’s computers. They better at least give the offending parties a warning letter in most cases, prior to taking other action.
The policies are not well known, not well communicated, and it would be possible to find fault with all employees. For instance, is posting to the Chronicle a proper use of faculty computer resources? How about between 8 am and 5 pm?
The only reason I know about these policies is because they were clearly stated to us in an orientation session when I was in grad school. None of my several employers the last decade have made an attempt to communicate the policy properly.
— me Mar 25, 09:47 AM #
“Seriously, as long as people do their jobs, who cares?”
Does the phrase ‘hostile work environment’ ring a bell? If porn viewing at work is widespread and tolerated, employers may be liable if someone files a sexual harassment suit. Most of us don’t want to walk by a public terminal or someone’s office computer with something X rated glaring from the screen.
— Librarian Mar 25, 10:00 AM #
Being the CIO, I often find myself telling everyone to remember that it is not YOUR computer or YOUR Department’s computer. It belongs to the college. Yes, we sometimes monitor, BUT only if we are directly asked or suspect something is going on with an individual. We don’t have the time or the want to know what everyone is doing. Are we getting to a point where we draw SSNs for drug test and computer searches?
— Darrin Mar 25, 10:43 AM #
Expecting employees to abide by puritan internet use policies (whether its porn, ebay, or poker) as they sit in front of their computers 8 hours a day in privacy is like telling your dog to be polite and please, refrain from mounting the neighbor’s collie.
If the scent is there, they’re gonna sniff— just canine nature.
— erroneousjaxxon Mar 25, 11:03 AM #
I too am a technology auditor and from time to time must snoop in other peoples’ mess. However, I am personally protected to a great degree by the Chair of the Board Audit Committee knowing and agreeing to my actions beforehand. My heart goes out to my peers like Ms. Davies who are forced into untenable situations by politcally (or is that puritanically) motivated supervisors without this protection.
— Ian Mar 25, 11:21 AM #
Clearly, those that work beyond 8 hour work days for the purpose of University operations and education and research should be allowed to have breaks. Sometimes people take breaks by relaxing and navigating websites. However, music, movies, news, and other kinds of websites are acceptable. Porn sites are not, and can offend your working neighbour. Please be considerate and don’t navigate porn sites at work. Save it for the privacy of your homes. I am astounded that 300 employees ventured to these sites during work time. I think we should all have university policies that do not allow us to frequent these sites during work time – it is unprofessional. Also, retaliation against the employee who was following orders is not fair.
— University administrator Mar 25, 11:45 AM #
The 300 number was just from one department too! We all know what “should” happen, but this audit shows us what does happen. Future internet policies need to find ways to tone down the untenable fundamentalism, and focus on policies that are realistic. When administrators create policies that are so widely abused, respect for policy deteriorates. I wish I worked with saints, but I don’t. How should policy change so that the negative effects of internet addictions are minimized in the workplace? Policy needs to start with human nature as given and proceed from there.
— ej Mar 25, 12:35 PM #
The most disappointing comment in this entire list is #14 from erroneousjaxxon. It is disappointing because it presumes that all human beings are no better than dogs roaming the neighborhood. That all human beings grovel at the same debased level, interested in only the most prurient material available.
Institutions have computer use policies – follow them. Institutions also often have auditors because some people don’t follow those agreed to policies.
Save your web hobbies, which range, I’m sure, from Better Homes and Gardens to the latest in latex, for your own time and your own computer.
Perhaps erroneousjaxxon’s fleas, I’m sorry, friends, are the type to play with any neighborhood hound. But that is not the case with mine.
— R2 Mar 25, 05:47 PM #
I’ve never looked at porn because it degrades women (many are addicts, children, and others are kidnapped and sold into slavery). Plus, it reflects the inequities in pay in our society. Also, most of the money is made by the men producing the porn.
— Brenda Lawrence Mar 25, 06:23 PM #
Porn viewing on work computers is never done in private, nor in a way as not to offend others. The staff who are charged with maintaining the desktop computers are often subjected to objectionable material in the course of their normal duties because staff are downloading/viewing porn on work systems. My staff are getting fed up cleaning up other people’s smut to be honest.
Also, from an IT security perspective, porn sites are generally higher risk than others for containing mal-ware. People are taking a risk by going to the sites on a university machine.
— IT Manager Mar 25, 07:01 PM #
This article is extremely vague on why she got fired. Wonder if the officials were looking at filth themselves?
— strat Mar 26, 04:37 AM #
To #18:
I agree this is a bleak picture, but consider: 300 employees at a university Health Center in the Bible Belt. Chances are these aren’t knuckle draggers that have never been introduced to Plato’s arguments concerning the deceptiveness of the material world. I’m just trying to be realistic here with my metaphors. Pornography is an epidemic, and you can’t fight epidemics with essentially abstinence-only education and policies.
I hate porn and I think it is destructive to men, women, and most importantly, families. But, the problem is deep, and hard-nosed “policy” isn’t gonna fix it. The roots of the problem are everywhere.
Just one point against your belief that we (academics) should all be able to rise above, etc… Consider The Chronicle’s much touted Second Life. This is a world largely inhabited by academics, not 18 year old studs sniffing around for prurient material. Sex is probably the only thing that is generating a profit on secondlife…you gotta be somewhat of an academic even be attracted to this little novelty world, yet it is dirtier than frat row on a Friday night.
— erroneousjaxxon Mar 26, 08:52 AM #
I work as a network security analyst for a large college and recently finished some research on this exact topic.
If I told you that 20 of your employees were wasting 30% of their day viewing pornography would you shrug this off? Further, what if those same 20 employees utilize 19% of your Internet bandwidth daily to download pornographic content – some illicit – to computers that you pay to provide and maintain?
Most importantly though, and as one person already noted: “porn sites are generally higher risk”. This is correct. There is a direct correlation between websites that offer this type of content and the dissemination of Viruses, Spyware and other malicious software. The data from our monitoring systems and AV solution can attest to this.
These users are a burden to the systems that we put in place to protect all of our users. They squander resources and expose our organizations to real threats. This is NOT ok, even on your lunch hour.
Lastly, we have only talked about pornography so far. What is the amount of ‘work time’ employees spend on recreational browsing like facebook, CNN, ebay, etc?
— paulh Mar 27, 07:57 AM #
The CIO is an offender at my employment. He has complete control of the network and no one to ever discover his abuse of the system. It disgusts me.
— in_the_know Mar 30, 06:26 PM #