European Businesses Open to Prosecution If They Do Not Manage Employee Download Habits

As prosecutions under the European Union Directive for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property are on the increase, Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), the worldís leading provider of employee Internet management (EIM) software, urges European business to be better prepared against illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing activity in the workplace or face potential prosecution.

Under this new directive, counterfeiters and pirates will be prosecuted, facing fines and other civil penalties, for breaching intellectual property rights. In the fight to crackdown on this type of crime, the directive gives copyright owners the power to seize usersí assets and freeze their bank accounts, regardless of whether there was any financial gain.

In Germany, a 23-year old man has already faced a compensation bill totaling Ä8,000 to cover the 6,000 MP3 files found on his computer and 70 pirated CDs. Furthermore, the decision by worldwide music industry group, IFPI, to prosecute a number of Danish file-sharers, ended in compensation payments of Ä3,000 each. A recent statement from the British Phonographic Industry revealed that eight million people in UK currently claim to be downloading music, with 92% doing so via illegal peer-to-peer software.

ìBusinesses must avoid opening their systems to peer-to-peer abuse. Faster Internet connections at work and the length of time people spend in the office can tempt employees to download files during working hours, placing enormous responsibility on the shoulders of the company. Clear Internet access policies for employees need to be drawn up, communicated effectively and enforced throughout the organisationî said Geoff Haggart, vice president Europe, Websense, Inc. ìOtherwise employees will continue to use their companyís Internet connection for non-work reasons. Thatís not only a lot of wasted employee time and bandwidth; ultimately it could also have serious legal repercussions for the business.î

Companies must ensure that the appropriate controls (policy, procedures, education) are implemented to mitigate the risks (and costs) associated with the use of pirated software. It is their responsibility to ensure that employees are using the Internet sensibly, according to pre-agreed company guidelines. It is not the duty of the ISPs or the file-sharing software providers to regulate how their systems are used.

To enable the filtering of network protocols such as P2P file-sharing, Websense has identified and categorised more than 225,000 software executable files in its Client Application Managerô database, allowing management of unauthorised or harmful applications on the desktop, even with respect to the disconnected laptop. This allows for a unique, layered approach to access management.