By 2006, more than 80% of mobile phones shipped in the US and Western Europe will have cameras, according to the market analysts. And Gartner reckons that companies need to implement "security programmes".
"Most organisations simply don't have the staff or money to mount effective inspections," said Ken Dulaney, research vice president at Gartner. "Instead, businesses should designate secure zones where restrictions on these devices are tight and can be enforced. For other workplace areas, staff should be given guidelines about what is acceptable."
"Usage guidelines will be far more effective than outright bans because it's not just the phones' cameras that could pose a security risk," said Carolina Milanesi, analyst for Gartner. "For example, many phones can also record voices. Therefore, it's hard to decide where to draw a firm line about what can and can't be used at work."
However, Tom Potbury, an employment law specialist with Masons, the firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, says that another new workplace policy may not be required:
"I'd agree with Gartner that banning camera phones is probably unnecessary for most organisations. But, depending on what measures the employer already has in place, there may not be any need for a new staff policy."
Potbury explains that if an employee is using a camera phone in a way that breaches security or compromises confidentiality, "normal disciplinary measures can be applied as they could be if a member of staff were copying sensitive documents with a photocopier."
But what about the increased privacy concerns? "In the same way," says Potbury, "the use of camera phones in a way that amounts to sexual harassment may result in a complaint to the employer." But again, he argues, "the fault is not with the technology – it's with the user."
Gartner analysts also warn of a flood of high-tech consumer devices, not just camera phones, entering the workplace, that could pose a security risk.
"There are Universal Serial Bus 'key ring' drives, some of which will soon feature built-in cameras that can quickly connect to almost any recent PC and take large amounts of information off the premises. There's also a new wave of DVD burners to contend with," Ken Dulaney said.
He continued, "Any company policy directed at camera phones should be widened to address the transfer of information from enterprise environments to consumer devices in general."
Again, Potbury urges caution: "New technology need not automatically require a new staff policy. Instead, most complaints or cases of misuse can be dealt with using existing disciplinary procedures."
Potbury agrees with Gartner that, above all, businesses must foster an internal culture that discourages the abuse of any technologies.
The advice comes a day after West Lothian Council announced that mobile camera phones are to be banned in all secondary and primary schools in the area.
Speaking to the BBC, the General Secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, David Eaglesham, said: "It is possible for kids to use them in the shape of bullying but perhaps more sinister than that it can be used by paedophiles."
"If they get their hands on these images then there will be a great problem," he warned.
This has already been seen in Ireland where police launched an investigation in January after a pornographic picture of a schoolgirl was circulated among hundreds of mobile phones, many of them belonging to secondary school students, in the Cork, Limerick and Kerry areas.