Bossware
Bossware, also known as tattleware, is software that allows supervisors to automatically monitor the productivity of their employees. Common features of bossware include activity monitoring, screenshotting and/or screen recording, keystroke logging, webcam and/or microphone activation, and "invisible" monitoring.[1][2][3][4][5] Bossware has been called a form of spyware.[2][5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of bossware by companies to monitor their employees increased.[4]
Reception
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) denounced bossware as a violation of privacy.[3] The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) denounced bossware as a threat to the safety and health of employees.[6]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the r/antiwork subreddit shared various mouse jiggler strategies to combat bossware intended to monitor the productivity of remote workers.[2]
References
- ↑ Gilliland, Donald (2021-07-24). "Warning: Your boss is probably spying on you — and it could be bad for your health" (in en). https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/564668-warning-your-boss-is-probably-spying-on-you-and-it-could-be-bad-for-your.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cole, Samantha (2021-12-08). "Workers Are Using 'Mouse Movers' So They Can Use the Bathroom in Peace" (in en). https://www.vice.com/en/article/88gqgp/mouse-mover-jiggler-app-keep-screen-on-active.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cyphers, Bennett; Gullo, Karen (2020-06-30). "Inside the Invasive, Secretive "Bossware" Tracking Workers" (in en). https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/06/inside-invasive-secretive-bossware-tracking-workers.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Klosowski, Thorin (2021-02-10). "How Your Boss Can Use Your Remote-Work Tools to Spy on You" (in en-US). https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-your-boss-can-spy-on-you/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Crispin, Jessa (2021-09-16). "Employers are spying on us at home with 'tattleware'. It's time to track them instead" (in en). https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/16/tattleware-employers-spying-working-home.
- ↑ Scherer, Matt (2021-09-16). "Strategies to Tackle Bossware's Threats to the Health & Safety of Workers" (in en-US). https://cdt.org/insights/strategies-to-tackle-bosswares-threats-to-the-health-safety-of-workers/.
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