The Dystopian Reality of Being Monitored while Working from Home

"Mouse Jiggler" from Amazon (affiliate link)

Recently an Amazon ad caught my eye while scrolling Facebook. Originally I thought it was some sort of recreation of a prop from Star Wars or Star Trek. Then I realized the horrifying truth - it's a device designed to keep your mouse "moving" while you're away from your desk. The fact that there is a market for such devices is terrifying, and presents the cold, harsh reality of some of the downsides to working remotely.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, and I'll get paid a small commission if you purchase something through one of these links.

As someone who used to work as a Federal contractor, I completely and totally get it. Sometimes supervisors simply don't trust their employees to actually be working while working remotely, or from home. And even though studies have shown that working from home is actually more productive, supervisors refuse to accept this data, and want to constantly monitor what their employees are doing.

One of the ways supervisors conduct this monitoring is through instant messaging applications such as Microsoft Teams. I personally had a policy pushed to my laptop at a Federal agency which would set my status to "away" after only 5 minutes - typically not even enough time to run to the bathroom. Combine this with the ability to get notifications when a person's status changes, and you now have the perfect monitoring method to make sure employees are at least at their computer.

Enter, the mouse jiggler. Originally developed just as a piece of software you could install on your computer, the mouse jiggler is specifically designed to prevent a computer's screensaver from turning on. Of course the downside is that IT departments can detect and block this software on corporate managed devices, so alternative solutions needed to be found.

Mouse jigglers eventually migrated to hardware devices, in the form of USB thumb drives. These drives would randomly move the cursor, either immediately upon plug-in, or through a switch/toggle. Of course, IT departments can still remotely view what USB devices are installed on a laptop, not to mention concerns over BadUSB attacks, in which a rogue "human interface device" could take over the computer and direct it to a malware download.

The ultimate culmination, which Amazon advertised to me today, is the "completely undetectable" mouse mover which you "trick" your computer by placing your mouse on top of (affiliate link) the device. And while IT continues to play the cat-and-mouse game of trying to detect and block "mouse jiggler" devices, organizations completely ignore the reason why employees are using these devices in the first place - authoritarian micro-managers who apparently have nothing better to do than monitor how long their employees are away from the computer.

Sometimes, the solution to an IT problem isn't an IT solution. In this case, the solution is for companies to address these micro-managers who are causing undue stress and employee turnover, causing more damage to the organization than productivity improvements. These micro-managers must be reigned in, or dismissed. Unfortunately employees are typically afraid to speak up about these terrible supervisors, because these same supervisors can often be spiteful and vengeful, sabotaging an employee's career for simply speaking up about hostile a work environment.

If you, an employee, are tempted to purchase one of these "mouse jiggler" devices, this is one of the first signs that it's time for you to find employment elsewhere. Begin your job search immediately, because the kind of stress generated by these types of work environments are very hazardous to your health - I know from first hand experience, and am extremely grateful that I escaped that situation.

Ken is a cyber security professional with over 15 years of experience. All opinions are his own, and do not reflect the opinions of his employer or clients.