Spam not a problem in workplace, say staff

More than half of US computer users believe spam is not a problem in their workplace and that their company's current junk email situation is under control, according to a survey.

The report by software security maker Symantec, found that 50.8 per cent of end users believe spam is not an issue at work. Approximately 68.2 per cent said their company has been able to curb junk email.

However, these results were in contrast to information technology managers' impression of the problem.

"I was surprised to find such a high percentage of end users think things are under control," said Chris Miller, a Symantec group product manager. "IT managers see it as a larger problem. They do a lot of things behind the scenes, and end users are the ones to reap the benefits."

For example, a majority of IT managers, 79.1 per cent, found spam to be a problem in the workplace. About 56.4 per cent of IT managers surveyed said despite the problem, their current situation is under control.

"For the most part, IT managers say they have it under control," Miller said. "They're doing their live updates. They're scanning, but it's still a problem for the organisation. They're saying, I still have to dedicate manpower to it. I'm still updating our rules."

Nearly 42 per cent of IT managers said spam makes up 25 per cent to 40 per cent of the email that comes into their networks. And as a result of that volume, it costs companies time and resources, they said.

A loss in employee productivity, IT productivity and server storage are some of the results of spam, IT managers said. Nearly 83 per cent of IT managers said employee productivity was affected, while 70 per cent cited a loss in IT work.

IT managers also expect instant messaging (IM) spam, or "spim," to be a growing problem that they will have to deal with in the future. A majority of IT managers, 53.6 per cent, say it's an issue they'll be dealing with in 2007. The majority of IT managers, 76.4 per cent, do not regard spim as an immediate problem, however. In part, that may be due to the low percentage of employees who use IM in the workplace. Only 30 per cent of employees use IM at work, according to the study.

The report surveyed 110 IT managers and 299 end users in North America.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com