There are industries where compliance requires all work-related communications be logged and monitored.<p>This logging is typically done through proxy servers on the network, and avoiding them is a _bad_thing_. They will also track web traffic through a proxy and MITM any https traffic by forcing the use of specific keys. They're trying to look for insider trading. Avoiding the proxy is the problem.<p>Staff using their own apps for regulated communications just cost JPMorgan USD$200m.<p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/17/jpmorgan-agrees-to-125-million-fine-for-letting-employees-use-whatsapp-to-evade-regulators.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/17/jpmorgan-agrees-to-125-milli...</a>
In the interim, have the IT folks setup a group policy to disable Brave's Tor feature so no one else accidentally gets caught in this: <a href="https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039248271-Group-Policy" rel="nofollow">https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039248271-Gro...</a>
My company blocks so much inane crap it’s ridiculous. Any site not explicitly reviewed by the firewall company? Blocked. Want to Google restaurants for lunch? Half the restaurants websites are blocked under the firewall rule against “alcohol and bars”. So much more.<p>Trying to talk to IT about it is painful. I had to go through three levels of support over a week just to get a single site unblocked.<p>Before Work-from-Home started, Brave’s Tor support was a godsend just for getting actual work done.<p>Before my department got bought out, our old company had pretty draconian blocking as well, but if you explicitly plugged into the ethernet ports in the developer area they were wide open.<p>And no, we’re not in any sort of industry where it really matters. Privately held educational software company.
I once triggered my domain account and PC intranet connection to be disabled because I started a Linux ISO download via BitTorrent. I didn't get in any trouble. Assuming this is even real, it's obviously just an example of bad management or there's more to the firing than what's being said.
I can fully understand why a company doesn't want Tor traffic coming from inside the firewall. But this case, if the sort description is accurate, should have been cleared up with a conversation with the employee possibly resulting in temporarily banning Brave until they can actually deploy it in a configuration that works with company policy.<p>Again, IF the description is accurate, the employee was using a browser allowed by IT and did not have any ill intentions.
I've been working in the IT industry way too long. Any devices provided by my employer will only have whatever the employer has preloaded in terms of software. I will not browse any private or personal things on that device. I'm under constant assumption that device is keylogged/monitored. Even when working from home, I have it connect to it's own private network on it's own VLAN.<p>If I do go into the office, I'll just use my cell-phone for personal browsing.
Well, it appears to be over zealous management. One might as well say “eating at your desk can get you fired”. The problem isn’t the eating. It’s the management.