US small businesses turn to digital tools to monitor staff's desktops

Washington

MERIAL Currer runs Patriot Scuba, an Occoquan, Virginia, shop that takes adventurous Washingtonians diving in one of two quarries within a short drive of the district. Two years ago, her son Will, an army employee who studied cybersecurity in college, told her about ActivTrak, a new software that would allow her to monitor her employees' desktops, and she thought it would be a nice way to manage the office when she was away.

Ms Currer has told her four full-time employees that she monitors their computers, and they don't seem to mind - she says she has not received pushback and mainly considers her use of the software a precaution to ensure that her workers, many of whom interact with children in their daily routines, stay off inappropriate websites. "We're a family-oriented business, so we want to make sure our employees are on family-oriented websites," she said.