Ride the Lightning

CITY CYBERSLACKERS NABBED BY COMPUTER FORENSICS IN QUEBEC

April 7, 2008

Computer forensics is a wonderful circus – we get to see all the animals in all conceivable environments. Here’s an example of one investigation we’ve never taken part of – though it’s logical enough.

So what do YOU do at work all day? Any cybersurfing? Is it enough to make you an official cyberslacker? That’s what the government of Quebec City set out to discover when it charged a law firm and a computer forensics company with conducting a sting operation against 27 municipal employees suspected of indulging in too much playtime on the Net.

As a result, the city sanctioned 15 employees, with 10 of them receiving unpaid suspensions. Separately, 12 police officers were referred to their internal disciplinary committee. In Canada, cyberslacking (love that term) is conservatively estimated to cost business more than $16 billion in lost productivity annually – in the U.S., that figure is estimated to be more than $80 billion.

Terrible, terrible. I can’t believe folks take a paycheck and are such wastrels on the job.

Excuse me, must run, need to find a pad thai recipe on Food Network and check the theme of this week’s American Idol episode.

The full article may be found at http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=32125d78-a479-497a-ae19-4f461ea18060

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