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With a clear and concise Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), your organization establishes rules on how resources such as the Internet and email are to be used. As Internet and email-borne threats have grown over the years, so has the risk of legal liability. It's no longer a game of controlling only one kind of communication (HTTP traffic), because now there are more ways to connect your employees with the world outside your network. This has given rise to growing legal concerns - enough to warrant state and federal legislation requiring compliance.
You could be contending with both internal and external forces in trying to manage your employees' Internet and email habits. External forces use blended threats to try and lure users to inappropriate Web surfing or emailing, while a lack of internal vigilance leads to abuses inside your organization. Your risk of liability has consequences extending from the financial losses of legal fees and fines to the sting of negative publicity and/or scandal. The resulting damage can last indefinitely. That's why the best way to protect yourself is with a comprehensive acceptable use policy (AUP).
iPrism Web Security and EdgeWave Email Security are powerful solutions that allow you to protect your organization from both internal and external risks of liability associated with Internet and email traffic. They are tools that can help you enforce your acceptable use policy (AUP).
Employees accessing offensive or illegal content are not only wasting time, their actions can result in lawsuits. These sites may also deliver spyware or adware applications that are difficult to eradicate. Often even if the offending user logs off, the machine can start delivering offensive pop-ups to other users who log in. Acceptable use policies (AUP) help to make it clear to employees about what is and isn't allowed when it comes to Internet use.
The legal liabilities associated with email abuse have had dire consequences for a number of organizations, some of them very well publicized. Risks that result in litigation and or financial losses include sexual or racial harassment, confidential information exposure, loss of intellectual property and more. Whether inadvertent or intentional, misuse of corporate email has resulted in some significant losses:
- Chevron Corporation had to pay $2.2 million to four female employees to settle a lawsuit in which the women claimed they were sexually harassed with e-mail jokes.
- Edward D. Jones & Co, USA, took action against 60 employees after a member of staff complained about an email with offensive content. The brokerage fired 19 workers and disciplined 41 others.
- A financial company was sued by a female employee who discovered a printout of a pornographic email on a department printer.
Most state/federal compliance legislation mandates severe consequences for the failure to protect sensitive and proprietary data. Spyware, malware and botnets are threats because all it takes is one key-logger to provide an outside entity with the login and password to your systems for your legal headaches to begin. Browser hijackers can easily send unsuspecting users to sites containing inappropriate content - a particularly dangerous liability risk for organizations that serve minors. Email is also a common tool used by cyber criminals to distribute malware, spyware and bots. EdgeWave Email Security and iPrism Web Security have an arsenal of innovative technologies that can defend against dangerous cyber attacks at the perimeter and in the case of bots, even if they manage to get inside your network. Learn more
If users are using P2P networks to store and traffic copyright software or media, your organization is responsible for their actions. If you are subject to state/federal legislation that requires you to be compliant with securing your customer, patient, user, and other data from being exploited, P2P networking represents a huge liability as it gives external agents a direct route into your network where they can commit cyber vandalism or theft.
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