In Brief
US survey finds workers abusing IT policies
A survey of white-collar workers in the United States found that more than a third of employees had violated their company's information technology policies at least once. Commissioned by the independent Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and conducted by MARC Research between August 23 and September 6, the poll covered 301 white-collar workers who worked for businesses with 100 or more employees. Nearly 15 per cent of the respondents said they had used peer-to-peer file sharing at least once at work, while 65 per cent said they were not very concerned or not concerned at all about their privacy when using a workplace computer. A surprising 63 per cent were not very concerned or are not concerned at all about the security of their information while at work. John Pironti, an ISACA representative, said risky computer activities were of significant concern for all businesses because companies relied on their IT infrastructure to store and transmit sensitive data.
Entries invited for construction safety award
The Hong Kong Labour Department is inviting entries for the annual Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme which aims to enhance awareness among contractors and workers of safety and health at work, as well as to foster and encourage safe working practices. According to the department's data, the number of construction accidents fell remarkably from 14,078 in 1999 to 3,400 last year, while the accident rate per 1,000 workers dropped from 198.4 to 64.3 during the same period. All contractors, subcontractors and site personnel are eligible to compete for the awards if they have not recorded any serious or fatal accidents or received any suspension notices from the department in the six months before the award enrolment deadline. Apart from the three main awards - construction sites, safety teams and safe workers - a new safety slogan category will be added to this year's competition and anyone over the age of 15 can take part. Details and enrolment forms can be obtained on the Labour Department's website.
