Should employees caught using AI against the rules be fired?
Rarely as a first step, and never on network data alone. Most unapproved AI use comes from people trying to do their job faster, often because no approved tool exists or the policy was never explained. Dismissal for a first, well-meant breach can be disproportionate under employment law in many EU countries, and it teaches the rest of the staff to hide their use rather than ask. A sounder sequence is: make sure the policy was clear, communicated and reasonable; offer an approved alternative; treat a first breach as a conversation and a recorded warning; and reserve disciplinary steps for deliberate or repeated breaches, or for serious harm such as disclosure of confidential client data. Decide with HR and legal advice, and involve the works council where your country requires it. A network sensor cannot establish who did what: NetSenX shows which device connected to which AI service and how much data moved, which is a starting point for questions, not evidence of a person's intent.