smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Limiting staff access to the internet can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reduce the risk of falling victim to online crime, it has been claimed.

That is according to Get Safe Online, a joint initiative between the government, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and leading businesses, which aims to help small businesses protect themselves from internet threats.

According to the organisation, imposing rules about certain websites and constricting access to social networking websites can prevent staff from passing information or exposing networks to security threats, intentionally or unintentionally.

Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, says: ' If you've got a couple of employees, make sure that they've got controlled access into the system so they can only go where they need to go. If they log on, they log on using their password so you can have some control over it.

'I think a policy is good for telling people what they can and can't do. This is in relation to visiting unnecessary websites, inappropriate websites … you're not restricting them from using the internet, but you're laying down a few rules about when they can [access sites] and what they can see.'

Research conducted by law firm Peninsula has revealed that employees addicted to using social networking sites during office hours are costing the UK economy $132 million a day in lost productivity.

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