Telework Information Security

Abstract

The sophistication of technology available to businesses as well as to homes has increased dramatically in the last 10 years. The speed of information exchange and the ease of use of computer software have become a major influence on the decision of businesses to allow unconventional working environments. As a result, telework has become an increasingly preferred option to working in the office (Manochehri & Pinkerton, 2002). In the early 1970s, Jack Nilles coined the word telework. Telework refers to an approved working arrangement whereby an employee—a teleworker—officially performs his or her assigned job tasks in a specified work area of his or her home on a regular basis (United States Department of Defense, 2002). According to the Communications Security Establishment’s Telework Pilot Program (2002), telework has become a very important alternative work pattern, which allows employees to better manage their home life and work life in a complex society. Telework offers many advantages, including the following: 1. Substantial savings in physical facility-related costs, including rent, storage, and electricity; 2. Expanding labor pools without geographic restrictions (Hirsch, 2002; Mehlman, 2002; Motskula, 2001).