SAN JOSE, Calif. – Networking technology provider Cisco has bowed a new product it claims can assist administrators in nearly ridding their networks of pornography and other noxious material.Cisco’s IronPort Web Usage Controls attack what Cisco calls the “Dark Web.” According to the company, “Web 2.0 sites built on collaboration technologies with dynamic content and high churn are largely unknown to legacy URL-list-based solutions, creating a Dark Web that greatly increases the compliance, legal liability and productivity risks associated with Web traffic.” Such sites make up about 80 percent of the URLs not checked by other blacklist technologies, Cisco notes.

IronPort Web Usage Controls check links in real-time to see whether they are processed by anonymous proxies and/or contain “unsuitable material.” According to Cisco, “The URL-filtering database provides exceptional coverage for traditional Web content, while the Dynamic Content Analysis Engine accurately identifies 90 percent of dynamic Web 2.0 content that remains ‘dark’ to list-based filtering.” The DCAE also “identifies 50 percent more objectionable content than first-generation solutions or solutions relying entirely on a list, significantly reducing the compliance and legal liability risks presented by Web 2.0 traffic.”

Cisco’s announcement of the new combined hardware-software solution followed closely the release of a new survey indicating as many as 54 percent of U.S. companies prohibit workers from using social-networking sites on the job. Another 19 percent allow employees to use social-networking sites only for business purposes. Almost all U.S. companies surveyed prohibit porn at work for fear of sexual harassment claims.