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Employee's Mistake Could Cost £1 Million
November 2009
Like many employers, you probably rely heavily on your IT systems. But, as Ealing Council recently found out, it only takes one serious virus to bring them down. So what rules can you impose on staff to keep your business safe?
Brought a virus into work
Earlier this year Ealing Council’s IT network was infected by a computer virus that brought all its services to a halt. Now, your first thought may be that the infection came from an external source, perhaps from someone with an axe to grind over a parking fine. But it did not – the damage was caused by one of the Council’s own employees.
How did that happen?
A subsequent report outlines the sequence of events. It says the virus was introduced to the network after an employee plugged an infected USB memory stick into their computer. It immediately began attacking the host PC and blocked all anti-virus software. It then infected every single Council computer and tried to connect with over 500 internet sites.
Quick pull the plug! The only course of action specialists could take was to shut down the entire network down. Initially, it was out of action for a week. But when attempts were made to restart it the virus re-infected the system twice, before finally being cleared.
Loss of revenue
On the face of it, you might think that the costs would not be that high. After all, it was a Council that was involved, not an online retailer. But the report showed that the total costs included:
- £200,000 in immediate recovery costs, largely due to the number of contractors drafted in to clean the Council’s hundred of computers.
- £190.000 in overtime as staff had to manually deal with administrative backlogs.
- £90,000 lost revenue from parking tickets which could not be issued
- £25,000 in lost library fines and fees
Upgrade fee. It’s likely the events will also prompt Council to upgrade the IT system. So the total repair bill could easily top £1 million.
Whose fault?
It’s not clear this disaster was caused as a result of the employee’s own USB device, or one issued by the Council. Either way, if you have no need for them to be used in your business, ban their use altogether and make it a disciplinary offence for staff to use them in their computers.
The rules. Outline your rules on USB devices in your computer policy and make any breach a disciplinary offence.
Tip 1. Viruses like this usually originate from surfing questionable sites on the Internet. So, if you do need to provide employees with this type of device, tell them they must not be used to transfer data to a third party computer, including those in their own home, without permission.
Tip 2. Direct staff never to open a file that they are unsure of, including those appearing on a USB device. These should be referred to your IT specialist.
Tip 3. Your IT staff can easily disable the USB slot on a PC. So even if someone tries to put in a flash drive, it won’t have any effect.
Source: Tips & Advice Personnel 15 October 2009
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