Harris Poll Finds that Americans Support Employee Digital Monitoring Programs Built on Transparency, Trust and Privacy

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dtex Systems, the leader in user behavior intelligence and insider threat detection, today published its recent Harris Poll. Dtex commissioned the survey following data collection, monitoring, and privacy scandals surrounding social networks such as Facebook and analytics platforms such as Palantir. The survey reveals attitudes towards employee digital activity monitoring among Americans overall and those employed full time. It also provides insights employers can use to build more effective monitoring programs. It was conducted online among more than 2,000 U.S. adults, of which over 800 are employed full time.

Key takeaways show that employers can implement effective cybersecurity that increases visibility, reduces insider threat risk, and that respects employees' privacy while gaining their support. To achieve this, monitoring should be conducted with:

• Openness and transparency — make sure employees know what's taking place
• Focus on security — monitor activities to reduce security risk, don't use tools that eavesdrop
• Data anonymization — only review and analyze data after a threat has been detected

Additional top findings revealed by the survey included:

• 45% of Americans believe it is sometimes, often or always acceptable for employers to monitor employees' digital activities to protect against security threats and data breaches.
• 64% of Americans somewhat to strongly agree that employers have the right to monitor employees' digital activities on personal or work-issued devices used to conduct work for security purposes, as long as they are transparent about it and let employees know up front that it is taking place.
• 77% of employed Americans would be less concerned with their employer monitoring their digital activity on personal or work-issued devices they use to conduct work, as long as they are transparent about it and let them know up front.
• 71% of Americans would not accept a job with an employer that monitors its employees' digital activities on work-issued or personal devices they use to conduct work without letting employees know about monitoring up front.
• 70% of Americans somewhat to strongly agree that they would consider leaving an employer if they found out that the employer was monitoring their digital activities on work-issued devices they use to conduct work without telling them up front.
• 62% of employed Americans would be comfortable with their employer monitoring their digital activities taking place on work-issued devices if it was for security purposes and the activity data was anonymized (i.e., the employer would only look at it if suspicious or threatening behaviors were detected). 36% of employed Americans feel the same about employer monitoring on personal devices.  

"The world has lost its tolerance for deceptive data practices, aggressive surveillance and privacy invasions. It's also become more lawless; Edward Snowden, Waymo vs. Uber and the insider who sabotaged Tesla are stark reminders of this reality," said Christy Wyatt, CEO, Dtex Systems. "This survey shows that Americans understand the situation and expect their employers to maintain a level of security that protects them and their jobs. It also shows that Americans who expect to have their privacy protected will reject legacy monitoring technologies that record their every keystroke and record everything they do."

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Dtex Systems from June 14 to 18, 2018 among 2,024 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 833 are employed full-time. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please see contact information in this release.

For more details on the Dtex Harris Poll survey and related graphics, read: Harris Poll Shows How To Gain Employee Support for Monitoring Programs and Avoid Privacy Invasions (https://dtexsystems.com/Harris-Poll-Gaining-Employee-Support-for-Monitoring-Programs)

Dtex also today released news about its most recent patent granted, read: Dtex Systems Patent Shows that Company is Only User Behavior Intelligence Provider Delivering Insider Threat Detection with Maximum Protection for Employee Privacy (https://dtexsystems.com/dtex-systems-patent-shows-company-is-only-user-behavior-intelligence-provider-delivering-insider-threat-detection-with-maximum-protection-for-employee-privacy)

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About The Harris Poll 
The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963 that is now part of Harris Insights & Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that delivers social intelligence for transformational times. We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible. To learn more, visit www.theharrispoll.com.

About Dtex Systems
Dtex Systems arms enterprises across the globe with revolutionary technology to protect against user threats, data breaches, and outsider infiltration. As the only solution combining unparalleled endpoint visibility with advanced analytics, Dtex is able to pinpoint threats with greater accuracy than traditional security methods without adversely impacting user productivity. To learn more, visit www.dtexsystems.com.

SOURCE Dtex Systems

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