INTERNET USAGE POLICY
Objective
The purpose of this document, the Internet Usage Policy, is to state requirements and set guidelines for acceptable employee use of internet resources at Company X for surfing the web, downloading, streaming, and consuming bandwidth.
Policy
Internet access shall be provided as needed, only for business-related usage. Downloading unauthorized software and data, visiting inappropriate sites, and conducting illegal activities are strictly prohibited using the official internet connection.
Scope
This policy concerns all employees of Company X (direct-hire or temp-help), contractors and anyone who is granted access to companys internet resources for any length of time.
Guidance
1. Internet connections are secured, maintained, and managed by Company X. Using internet connections that are not managed by Company X is strictly forbidden as it opens a backdoor to the companys information network, jeopardizes its control over its resources, and subjects the entire network to security breaches. 2. Company X will provide internet connectivity and other internet resources only to users who have a business justification for internet need. 3. Internet resources should not be used for personal purposes. 4. Personnel should not at any time access or download inappropriate materials, including non-business related materials or material such as pornographic, racist or something which incites violence, hatred or any illegal activity. 5. Personnel should not browse personal web mails unless permitted only to a strictly limited basis with the specific approval 6. Personnel must take care not to infringe the copyright of third parties when downloading materials or forwarding the same to others. 7. Personnel should ensure that all information which is posted on the organizations website is accurate and up-to-date. 8. The company provides Internet access to the staff to assist them in carrying out their duties for the company. It is envisaged that it will be used to lookup details about suppliers, products to access government information and other statutory information. It should not be used for personal reasons. 9. Personnel may only access the Internet using the Companys content scanning software, firewall and router.
10.Respect legal protections to data and software provided by licenses and copyrights. 11.Do not download software from the Internet and install it upon the company computer equipment. 12.Do not use companys computer to make unauthorized entry into any other computer or network. 13.Do not use Internet access to transmit confidential, political, obscene, threatening or harassing materials. 14.Using internet resources for chatting and messaging clients (ICQ, MSN, Yahoo etc.) will be considered a violation of Internet usage Policy and a violation of work ethics, both of which may be investigated and penalized separately by the management. 15.All file-sharing and peer-to-peer applications are banned from use on Company X information network. Such activities can cause the following security risks: Bandwidth overuse by continuous download and upload of material. Introduction of files from unknown sources that can be harmful. Exposing the information network to the possibility of back-doors. 16.In the rare case that visiting some of the banned sites in this policy has a business justification, a special-condition permission needs to be obtained from the Head of IT for specific users and a specific timeframe. 17.All material downloaded through internet must be subjected to spyware and malware detection software in addition to anti-virus scanning prior to use.
Enforcement
Disciplinary action will be taken in case of Internet Use Policy violation, which may range from verbal reprimand to final termination of employment, depending on the severity and seriousness of the violation. Considering the nature of internet activities, there may be a tendency for most violations to be serious and therefore most cases may result in disciplinary actions.
