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TOKYO Apr 6, 2006 (AP)— For many years now, companies have been able to keep track of every Web site visited, e-mail sent and file accessed by their workers through readily available tracking software.

Now a growing number of Japanese employers are monitoring their staff with the help of homegrown programs designed to spy on their workers' every move, a specialist said Thursday.

A recent study has shown that over 30 percent of large Japanese companies monitor PC use among their staff, according to Masakazu Kobayashi, an associate professor at Tokyo's Institute of Information Security.

Heightened concerns over a spate of data leaks especially those involving the file-sharing software, Winny is likely to drive that percentage up, Kobayashi said.

"It's scary," Kobayashi told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. "In five years, most companies will be doing this."
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Read More / Source: ABC News