A snooping software is being offered to investment banks and other large companies who fear being hit by multi-million-pound claims for sexual discrimination and harassment.
The software, developed by Cambridge-based company Autonomy, is already used by America’s Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies in the battle against terrorism.
The software can spot abusive and malicious intent in e-mails –picking up not just on key words but also on more subtle codes and patterns– and problems even when an aggressive or bullying manager is not sending e-mails to his victim.
It can also identify how much time employees spend discussing matters unrelated to their work and copy any offending message to a compliance officer.