More and more companies employ staff solely to spy on colleagues

Proofpoint says, "An increasing number [of companies] say they employ staff to read or otherwise analyse the contents of outbound email - 38 per cent, up from 29 per cent in 2008." Proofpoint also says that companies are right to be wary. The survey shows that 43 per cent of respondents said they had investigated email leaks of confidential information over the course of the past twelve months.

What's more, says Proofpoint, "Nearly a third [of companies] - 31 per cent - "terminated an employee" (presumably and g hopefully this means dismissed from a job rather than whacked by a hitman) for violating email policies in the same period.

The survey was conducted with senior staff responsible for emails and Internet activities at 200 major companies employing more than 1,000 staff.

Employers are also worried about blogs. The research shows that 18 per cent of respondents "had conducted an investigation into employees' use or blogs or message boards" while "17 per cent had disciplined an employee for breaking company rules on their use.