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In the News: Parry Aftab on
Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime.
Several articles explain the issues of commercial
cyber-security and cyber-crime in the workplace best. Some are written by Parry
for publication in leading magazine, while others have been written for
publication featuring Parry and her work. Look for regular updates and additions
to this page.
The Cyber Water Cooler:
when cyber-talk turns ugly.
A wonderful article, dealing with cyber-stalking and online threats and
extortion in the workplace, appeared on the front page of the Sunday New York
Times, as well as on the front page of the International herald Tribune. This
features Parry's professional work as well as her pro-bono charitable work.
"Disgruntled employees and former employees are increasingly using the Internet
to harass colleagues, executives or the company itself", according to Ms.
Aftab..."In one recent example ... a company executive was being harassed
through e-mail messages sent to his family, employees and investors that said he
molested his children. In another, an employee set up a Web site claiming to be
another employee and offering to have sex."These
kinds of cases are occurring more and more frequently, and most businesses don't
know what to do. This is where we can help. Using retired law enforcement agents
skilled in Internet investigations and using unfair trade laws, defamation and
cyber-stalking and harassment laws, Parry and her expert consultants help
businesses deal with this problem quickly and discretely. For more information
about the consulting services, review our Parry Aftab's Consulting Services page
or
contact
Parry directly. (Individual victims of
cyberstalking and harassment should not contact Parry directly, but should visit
WiredSafety.org and fill out a Cyberstalking and Harassment Reportline form.)
Computer Break-ins...what are you doing to protect
your company?
Review our public security audit checklist and see how exposed you
are. With terrorism being a part of our lives, and with computer data being
lost to companies which stored that data in the World Trade Center before
September 11th, we can no longer afford to shut our eyes to the risks that our
data will be lost, stolen or corrupted. And if the company doesn't take
reasonable measures to protect it, executives in charge may be facing individual
liability. To read about the things you should consider,
click here. To learn more about "Ankle Biters"
and hackers that are trying to take down your system,
review this. If
you're looking for a "probe" of your system to discover your vulnerabilities,
reach out to
Parry. Full security audits are performed by her
firm, to help companies understand what needs to be fixed and how.
Sometimes security is easier than you think.
Click here.
Make sure you are using the most up-to-date security patches and
software and are using reasonable efforts to protect your system. Review your
telecommuting policies and remote access points for
your employees. To learn more, visit our
telecommuting pages.
What should a company do when they discover child
pornography on one of their computers?
As more and more employees are given Internet access and the privacy to
surf, company's are finding that they are downloading contraband software,
music, images and surf for porn. Some companies have adopted comprehensive
Internet use policies that instruct the employees about what they should and
shouldn't be doing online and the ramifications if they break the rules. To read
more about Internet policies, and what they should contain, as well as whether a
company should be monitoring the Internet activities and e-mails of their
employees,
click here. How closely are you watching your
employees' actions? Knowing that your business faces liability in many cases for
what your employees do...how closely should you be watching?
According to Parry, "Each
month, I learn about roughly 20 cases of child pornography in the workplace--and
the problem is clearly growing. I'd bet 80% of the companies in this country
have at least one employee who has child pornography on their computer.
High-speed access and big hard drives at work encourage the trend."
Some states are mandating that IT workers report child pornography when
it is discovered on the company's computers. Interestingly enough, although
Parry is one of the leading advocates worldwide opposing children pornography,
she opposes these kinds of laws almost as much. To read her article in Optimize
Magazine on this topic,
click here.
What are you doing to make sure that the company does
something more than ignore serious crimes, and still protects its reputation.
Handled improperly, the company can end up on the evening news. Handled
properly, the criminal is prosecuted and the company's reputation is protected.
Knowing what to do, how to gather the evidence and how to get law enforcement
involved discretely is key to getting through a situation like this safely.
Reach out to
us if you need our help, or if you have
questions relating to these kinds of issues.
What about surveillance?
Can or should you be videotaping in the workplace? Read Parry's
article,
To Videotape or Not to Videotape, that is the
question. It's important that you understand the limits of what you can and
should be monitoring in the workplace. Mistakes can be costly. Monitoring has
been deemed a collective bargaining issue by the NLRB.
Do you have union workers? If so,
read this.
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Parry
Aftab, Esq., 
Marvel and
all character names and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of
Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. TM & © 2004 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. “Super Heroes” is a Co-owned registered
Trademark.