Video Sharing: The New Corporate Security Threat

Posted on September 25, 2006

First blogs were the big threat to corporations. Bloggers were warned about blogging from work and several bloggers were fired because of their blogs. Now the new threat is homemade videos and video sharing websites. An article from Newsfactor says at least one employee has already been fired over a YouTube video.

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin found itself the subject of a video on YouTube, a site that lets users post amateur videos. One of its engineers, Michael De Kort, posted a video in which he claimed some patrol boats the company had delivered were defective.
He says he posted the video after getting no response to his concerns from the company. After the video went up, De Kort, of Monument, Colo., says, he was let go. He is now seeking to create a new online website where employee whistle-blowers can post similar videos.

The article says some corporations are tightening security measures. DaimlerChrysler and Texas Instruments have already banned or limited cellphones that can capture images.

"Now, today, everyone can have a James Bond camera. Like blogging before it, online photo and video sites beg for corporations to produce new standards and rules that are clearly communicated to all employees," says David Carpe, founder of Boston-based consulting firm Clew. "It's a risk."
Employees also run a personal risk if they post untrue information that could leave them vulnerable to defamation lawsuits. Videos can also give information to competitors or create a public relations crisis.
The concern is mounting with the growing popularity of image-ready phones, Web cameras and online sites that allow users to post video.

It is easy to see the harm a secretly video taped meeting, prototype or product test could have on a company -- especially in today's competitive marketplace. Most employees have enough common sense to know revealing corporate secrets could get them fired.

The videos that may be more likely to cause problems are videos of the corporate Christmas party or videos of people taken outside the office. These videos probably won't contain corporate secrets but they might contain content that embarrasses or humiliates employees or employers. Companies should have a policy about videos just like they should have a corporate policy about blogging. A study from February, 2006 found that just 15% of corporations had a blogging policy in place.