Our Bronx employment law firm is often asked what the rights of a small business or company are when it comes to preventing computer fraud. While a company has the right to monitor any business sites, some employers take their rights too far and cite the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act against employees in an effort to intimidate them into dropping a discrimination claim.
Original Intent of the CFAA
The original law, passed in 1984, was worded differently from current laws and was designed to protect government and banking information. However, it only addressed hacking from unauthorized users and did not address authorized users. Later amendments updated the laws and broadened their scope of authority. Our Bronx employment law firm can provide you with additional information on how these laws could affect you.
Current Application of CFAA Laws
Employers can now use the CFAA under the following conditions:
- If an employee exceeds his or her scope of authority by accessing unauthorized content, especially if said content involved national or foreign matters If the employee accessed the computer with the intent to defraud and if he or she gained valuable information as a result or
- If the employee causes knowing or intentional damage to a computer that results in loss after the transmission of a command, code, information or program. The main point of the legislation is that an employee should stay within the parameters of authorized use for an employer’s computer. He or she can avoid possible litigation by:
- No longer using company computers if he or she no longer works there
- Using work computers only for their intended use and not exceeding his or her scope of authority and
- Not sharing any confidential or company information or proprietary trade secrets.
Contact Our Bronx Employment Law Firm
If you have questions about computer fraud and your legal rights, call our Bronx employment law firm, The Law Offices of Delmas A. Costin Jr., at (877) 440-0854.
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