Week 9: Banners in support of system monitoring

When:
Review at least annually, or when legal guidance changes.

What:
A banner statement advising users that by using the system they consent to monitoring. If the user proceeds after this banner appears on their screen then "implied consent" exists. "Express consent" is easier to prove should a case end up in court and is obtained through a signed or "click through" user acknowledgment that tells users their rights and responsibilities, and that their actions may be monitored. Using a network sniffer or auditing tools to monitor e-mail to see what employees are up to (a.k.a. "unauthorized monitoring") constitutes an illegal action.

Why:
There are two reasons to use a warning and monitoring banner: It states your policy on monitoring and acts as a "no trespassing" sign to let users know they are now entering your system.

Intercepting another person's communications -- including e-mail and stored information -- without their knowledge or consent violates privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. The key here is to establish in advance the rights and expectations of all parties -- employees, employers, IT staff, consultants, and, yes, even hackers. You should also consider questions like the privacy rights of customers and clients, business partners and even telecommuters. Three main federal statutes apply -- The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access Act and The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which were amended by the USA Patriot Act. Many states have statutes that deal with the intentional interception of communications or with intentional unauthorize

To continue reading for free, register below or login

Requires Membership to View

To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information (all fields required):

First Name:
Last Name:
Country: Select... Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Email Address:

Do you manage, evaluate, recommend, implement, support or purchase security products, software or services?
YesNo

Please estimate the yearly security budget for your entire organization including all security products and services.
Please select... Over $10 Million $5 Million-$10 Million $1 Million-$4.9 Million $500,000-$999,999 $100,000-$499,999 $50,000-$99,999 $25,000-$49,999 $10,000-$24,999 Less than $10,000 None

What is your role in purchasing IT related products and services? (Check all that apply)
Technical decision maker
Financial decision maker
Recommend/Specify
Evaluate products
Implement Products/Services
Determine Needs
Create Security Strategy
None

By joining SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email updates from the TechTarget network of sites, including updates on new content, magazine or event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile or unsubscribing via email.

TechTarget cares about your privacy. Read our Privacy Policy

Strategy:
If asked to monitor someone, you should involve your legal counsel. Proceed carefully, as alerting a government agency may result in your system being seized for further analysis, and may create liability for you or your organization. Failing to report may likewise result in regulatory liability. If a government agency is going to be involved, make sure it's a decision by the highest levels of your organization, not you. In the meantime, post a banner on your Web site that reflects your legal counsel's guidance, and establishes expectations of privacy and the right to monitor.

For more information:
For details on the tatutes mentioned above, see http://www.usiia.org/legis/ecpa.html for the ECPA; http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/18/parts/i/chapters/121/toc.html for the Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access Act; and http://www.epic.org for the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

About the author
Shelley Bard, CISSP, is a senior security network engineer with Verizon Federal Network Systems (FNS). An infosecurity professional for 17 years, Bard has briefed and written infosecurity assessments and technical reports for the White House and Department of Defense, special interest groups, industry and academia. Please e-mail any comments to securityplanner@infosecuritymag.com.

Opinions expressed in this column are those of Shelley Bard and don't necessarily reflect those of Verizon FNS.

Mark D. Rasch, Esq., senior VP and chief security counsel at Solutionary Inc., contributed to this article.

Last week: Reviewing your policies and procedures
Next Week: Are you throwing out company secrets?

Rate this Tip To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchSecurity.com. Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member. BROWSE BY TAG Weekly Security Planner,   Network Intrusion Detection and Analysis,   Enterprise Network Security,   Monitoring Network Traffic and Network Forensics,   VIEW ALL TAGS Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us    RELATED CONTENT Weekly Security Planner Weekly Security Planner: April Weekly Security Planner: March Weekly Security Planner: January Weekly Security Planner: February Weekly Security Planner: December Weekly Security Planner: November Weekly Security Planner: September Weekly Security Planner: August Weekly Security Planner: October Weekly Security Planner: July Monitoring Network Traffic and Network Forensics Chained Exploits: How to prevent phishing attacks from corporate spies PCI compliance requirement 10: Auditing Know when you need IDS, IPS or both An inside look at security log management forensics investigations How to analyze a TCP and UDP network traffic spike How to perform a network forensic analysis and investigation Tying log management and identity management shortens incident response The telltale signs of a network attack Cyberattack mapping could alter security defense strategy Should the government reduce its external Internet connections? RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary computer forensics  (SearchSecurity.com) Einstein  (SearchSecurity.com) footprinting  (SearchSecurity.com) information signature  (SearchSecurity.com) inverse mapping  (SearchSecurity.com) network behavior analysis  (SearchSecurity.com) network forensics  (SearchSecurity.com) probe  (SearchSecurity.com) promiscuous mode  (SearchSecurity.com) snoop server  (SearchSecurity.com) RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.