Internet companies should protect themselves against disgruntled employees
Internet lawyer Josephine Tanada Yam urged Internet companies to draft detailed, corporate Internet usage policies for employees to protect themselves against intellectual property infringement, defamation, pornography and hacking.
23 May 2000 (Manila Bulletin) - In a presentation before the 4th AsiaPacific Regional Conference of the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO), Attorney Yam said that almost 58% of hacker attacks come from disgruntled employees. Usage policies and iron-clad contracts could protect companies from harmful attacks by employees later on.
Attorney Yam said hackers could be classified into three categories: those who want to show their intellectual skills by trespassing on secure sites; those who want economic or political gain through theft and espionage; and those who intend to inflict damage either in the form of vandalism or releasing a virus.
As the Internet community has been through the ILOVEYOU virus, there is also an urgent need to pass legislation to facilitate the country's smoother transition to the Internet future, she added.
"They say that too much law will stifle the Internet but really, there is a need for Internet laws. We need laws that would facilitate e-commerce, and that would make e-contracts feasible," Attorney Yam said.
During the YEO conference, which was attended by 200 entrepreneurs from Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and India, Attorney Yam advised Internet entrepreneurs to be protective of their intellectual property rights. She said that Internet companies should not only register their domain names but also their company names, trademarks, acronyms and even misspellings of their trademarks. She cited the case of toymaker Hasbros, whose site www.candyland.com was ripped off by the adult-oriented site www.candiland.com.
Attorney Yam added that Internet entrepreneurs must make sure that Web agreements are specific and drafted in the company's favor. This includes contracts with Web developers and hosting companies. The company's privacy policy should also be defined clearly for the information and agreement of users.