Question

Do you agree that the most effective way to obtain adequate system security is to rely on the integrity of company employees? Why or why not? Does this seem ironic? What should a company do to ensure the integrity of its employees?

Answer 1

Employees are both strengths and weakness of any organization. Integrity, trained employees are the most active fraud preventive. However, when fraud become apparent, it often comprises an employee in a point of trust. As many as 90% of computer frauds are insider jobs by employees.

Employers can do the following to maintain the reliability of their employees.

· Human Resource Policies . Implement human resource procedures for hiring, paying, appraising, advising, promoting, and pay off employees that send messages about the required level of moral conduct and integrity

· Hiring and Firing Practices : Effective hiring and firing practices include:

o Get information for potential employees using a detailed circumstantial checks and written tests that assess honesty.

o Remove fired employees from all delicate jobs and refute them admittance to the computer system to avoid damage.

· Managing Resentful Employees : Some employees who commit a fraud are unhappy and they are seeking retaliation or "justice" for some wrong that they observe has been done to them. Companies should have measures for recognizing these individuals and helping them resolve their frame of mind or eliminating them from jobs that allow them admission to the system. One way to avoid unhappy employees is to provide grievance channels that allow employees to talk to someone outside the normal chain of command about their grievances.

· Culture . Create an administrative culture that stresses reliability and assurance to both moral values and capability

· Management Style . Adopt an organizational structure, management philosophy, operating style, and desire for risk that reduces the prospect of fraud

· Employee Training : Employees should be trained in suitable conduct, which is secure by the corporate culture. Employees should be taught fraud awareness, security measures, moral contemplations, and punishment for immoral conduct.