An e-policy is your set of internal rules that define how your organisation's computing assets (computers, email, Internet connection, etc.) should and should not be used. The premise behind the policy is that it is signed by everybody and in doing so agree to adhere to the rules established.

E-policies should cover various topics, with each policy varying from organisation to organisation based on the needs of the organisation and the level of control to be exercised over your employees' activities. Even though all e-policies share similar and often common elements, there is no common e-policy that can be used.

At Transam we focus on establishing e-polices that are tailored to your organisation's specific needs.

Why develop an e-policy?

Through the provision of computers and Internet access to even a single employee, a very real risk is being run of you being held accountable for any misdeeds that this employee may commit while using systems provided by your organisation. Thus, employee misuse can be something as simple as sending jokes using the company's email system to something as sinister as running a racist campaign across the company's Internet connection.

If you have not taken specific reasonable steps to establish and enforce your e-policy concerning the use, or misuse, of your computers it is possible that you would be found liable for these misdeeds. The repercussions of the financial , the publicity, the legal fees and the disruption to your business caused by such entanglements can be devastating.

Common problems experienced by organisations

• Employee and third-party lawsuits

• Sexual harassment lawsuits

• Claims of defamation

• Huge software piracy settlements

• Lost employee productivity

• Trademark and patent infringement suits

• Wasted computer resources

• Computer viruses

• Internal cyber sabotage and security breaches

• External Cracker and Hacker attacks

• Extended periods of computer/network downtime

• Public relations nightmares

By developing a properly written set of e-policies you will be creating a critical component that could help manage and mitigate your organisations' e-risks. Likewise, without such policy, you may well be playing Russian roulette with your organisation's existence.   

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