Network Security, Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

Frisky Canadian government employees surf porn, personals at work

An industry Canada employee may have infected his computer with dangerous malware by looking at porn sites, according to an investigative report.

QMI Agency obtained a copy of a security report that detailed inappropriate surfing activity by the worker at Industry Canada's Montréal office. Between November 2009 and January 2010, the employee served porn sites involving bondage, dominatrixes or Brazilian transsexuals.

The employee, who may not have been disciplined, according to the report, also allowed his computer to be infected with at least two trojans.

This is not the first time that Canadian government employees have been frisky at work.

Last year, a Canada Border Services Agency employee was investigated for reading and responding to sex-related ads on websites, including Craigslist and Kijji. The employee, who used a government email address, served and replied to ads for up to five hours a day on taxpayer time.

After a review that lasted for weeks, the Canada Border Services Agency decided last month to allow the employee to keep his job.

Clearly, there is little else to do during the winter months in Canada. In 2010, government workers at Public Safety Canada, which is the government agency most responsible for cybersecurity, regularly surfed for porn on government computers. Apart from pornography, they also accessed sites featuring ads for sex partners.

In March, the number of inappropriate sex sites visited by employees at the agency dropped dramatically.

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