1.10 E-Mail & Internet Policy

Introduction

This policy applies to all employees using the Internet in and/or electronic mail in Glin National College and on behalf of Glin National College.  

Every employee is responsible for maintaining the company's image, productively using these electronic resources and avoiding placing the company at risk of legal liability based on their use. 

Glin National College's Internet connections are intended for activities that either support Glin National College's business or the professional development of employees. System users are expected to be responsible, considerate and ethical in using company systems, protect valuable information, and exercise prudent judgment. Misuse of company systems may result in restriction or termination of access privileges and other disciplinary action, up to and including termination.   

All messages distributed via the company's email system, even personal emails, are Glin National College's property.   

If Glin National College deems this necessary, your internet usage or emails can be monitored without prior notification. Suppose there is evidence that you are not adhering to the guidelines set out in this policy. In that case, the company reserves the right to take disciplinary action, including termination and/or legal action.  

The below outlines the standards that employees are held to concerning using company internet and email systems. The policy follows the Data Protection Commissioners published guidelines per the Data Protection Acts 1998-2003. 

1 –Potentially dangerous material 

Do not launch, detach or save any executable file (i.e. those ending in 'exe', 'bat', 'com', 'cmd', 'inf', 'ipa', 'osk', 'pif', 'run', 'wsh' or 'vbs') under any circumstances. If you receive any material that you believe has the potential to be dangerous or damaging, you must contact the I.T. administrator immediately. 

All incoming attachments must be virus-checked. Please note that all portable storage devices (e.g. USB sticks) brought into the Office from home P.C.s should also be virus-checked. The safer option is to forward these attachments by email from your home P.C. as the company's anti-virus software will automatically screen them. 

Do not open, detach, or save unofficial file attachments to any network drive. Official attachments should be placed in the relevant document Library or detached to a shared drive. Please beware of saving any documentation to your P.C.'s hard drive, as this will not be backed up and will be irretrievable if your P.C. breaks down.  

2. Obscenity, child pornography and Incitement to hate.

You are subject to all legislation regulating Internet use, including the provisions regarding obscenity, child pornography, sedition and the incitement of hate. In particular, persons have obligations under the Irish Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1997 not to allow any of its systems (mail, Internet, etc.) to be used for downloading or distributing offensive Material. 

3. Other offensive and time wasting material

Unsolicited Material can arrive from anywhere. Should you receive Material that you find offensive, abusive or time-wasting, respond to it just as you would an offensive letter: complain directly to the sender and bring it to the attention of the sender's employing organisation / I.T. and H.R. managers as appropriate. 

In the case of any Spam mail, don't issue any reply. 

4. Misleading information 

Always be aware that the Internet is an unregulated, worldwide environment. It contains information and opinions that range in scope from reliable and authoritative to controversial and highly offensive. It is your responsibility to assess the validity of the information found on the Internet. 

Material you send 

Remember that email is effectively on official headed paper and can be traced back to place, date and time of sending. Please make sure you are satisfied with its content and that it has been approved at the appropriate level. Double-check the address of the intended recipient. The email cannot be stopped or retrieved once the "send" key is pressed. Deleting mail from your system does not make it untraceable. 

Do not send any unofficial graphics or executable files under any circumstances. Do not instigate or forward "unofficial mail" to users within or outside the Office or transmit any material that may be offensive or disruptive to others or which may be construed as harassment. Do not make derogatory comments regarding gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the travelling community. 

Remember that screensavers can be a means of offending others. 

Do not use another staff member's email account. 

All emails are automatically backed up and are recoverable. All emails leaving the Office should have the following text or equivalent automatically appended: - 

"The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. It is the policy of Glin National College to disallow the sending of offensive material. Should you consider that the material contained in the message is offensive, you should contact the sender immediately and your I.T. manager". 

Screening procedures 

The Company's I.T. screening system will automatically screen all mail for known viruses, attachments, etc. 

I.T. Administration does not usually read individual mail or open mailboxes except: 

(1) where the screening software or a complaint from an individual indicates that a particular mailbox contains dangerous or offensive material. 

(2) where a legitimate work reason exists to open the email. 

Opening mailboxes for investigation requires authorisation by the senior management on a case-by-case basis. The individual's mailbox, hard disk, network drive and relevant backups are then searched. 

Where investigation proves a problem exists, it will be reported to the sender, their organisation, the staff member concerned, the Head of Division and the HR Manager for appropriate action. Where the problem concerns material such as a virus or an unauthorised .exe file, which can damage the network, I.T. Administration may immediately close an account pending further investigation and action. 

Blocked messages, either inbound or outbound, are deleted after 21 days if a request for release is not received. Messages containing virus files are not retained. 

Time wasting and resources 

Network resources such as storage space and capacity to carry traffic are not unlimited. However, your time and that of your colleagues is the most valuable resource available to the Office. 

You must not deliberately perform acts that waste your and your colleague's time or computer resources. These acts include 

• Playing games 

• Online chat groups 

• Uploading / Downloading large unofficial files that create unnecessary non-business-related loads on network traffic 

• Accessing streaming audio/video files, for example, listening to music or watching movie clips 

• Forwarding audio/video files to colleagues 

• Participating in mass non-business related mailings such as chain letters 

• Sending unofficial attachments    

Financial implications  

Do not download any material/software from the Internet for which a registration fee is charged without first obtaining the express permission of the Office. Only the software installed by the I.T. Administration, listed on the Offices Assets Register, is deemed legally sourced by the Office and covered by the appropriate licence agreement. No other software is approved for use on any Office computers or laptops. 

Security 

You are responsible for the use of the facilities granted in your name. The primary protection at present is your password. Make it difficult to guess, and above all, keep your password private from everyone, write it down or give it out over the phone. If you think someone knows your password, ask for it to be changed immediately. Maintaining the privacy of your password is your responsibility, and consequently, you are responsible for any abuses taking place using your name and password. 

Secure the session by password or signing off before leaving your computer unattended. 

When leaving your P.C. unattended, press Ctrl Alt Del (like logging into your P.C.) and click the "Lock workstation / Lock computer" box. On return, press Ctrl Alt Del and enter your password to log back into the P.C. 

Users accessing the Internet through a computer attached to the Office's network must do so through an approved Internet firewall or other security device. Bypassing the Office's computer network security by accessing the Internet directly by modem or other means is strictly prohibited. 

You are reminded that files obtained from sources outside the Office, including disks brought from home, files downloaded from the Internet, news groups, bulletin boards or other online services and files attached to email messages may contain computer viruses that may damage the Office's computer network. While the Office continually upgrades its virus protection infrastructure, the potential introduction of viruses on the Office system remains a threat. All incoming material, regardless of origin, should be virus-checked before being used on any P.C. on the Office's network. This is not paranoia: various viruses from various individuals and organisations have been blocked over the last 12 months. This threat is real and will not be diminishing. If you suspect a virus has been introduced into the Office's network, notify the I.T. Section immediately. 

The Internet is not secure. Whether by email or via the World Wide Web, do not give out more information than is necessary to fulfil your purpose. Beware of demands for unnecessary details. Be wary of sites that request more data than is necessary for accessing the site or making a transaction or that do not tell you why they require this data from you. In particular, no information on I.T. systems or resources should be disclosed over the Internet or through email without authorisation from the I.T. Administrator. 

External email should only be used to transmit unclassified information to individuals outside the Office. Classified or confidential Material should not be sent by email unless encrypted.   

Weblogs 

All web browsing is logged. Screening software prevents access to specific non-work-related sites. The web browsing logs will only be accessed with management authorisation where there are reasonable grounds to believe this policy has been contravened. 

Personal use 

Just as with the phone, a small amount of limited personal use of email and Internet facilities is permitted if such use does not otherwise infringe this policy. 

Rules for Email use

To avoid or reduce the risks inherent in the use of Email within Glin National College, the following rules are necessary:

Glin National College's name is included in every message a Glin National College employee sends. This reflects on our image and reputation. Each Email must also display our disclaimer notice. Email messages must be appropriate and professional.

Email is primarily for business use. Glin National College expects that employees will not use Email for personal use during working hours. We recognise that employees may need to use Email for individual tasks occasionally. We hope that such use is kept to a minimum.  

Employees, whom, in the opinion:

1. Of management has abused this, it will be subject to disciplinary sanction.

2. Particular care should be taken when sending confidential or commercially sensitive information. If in doubt, please consult with your Network Administrator or Manager.

3. Great care should also be taken when attaching documents, as the ease with which employees can download files from the Internet or cut and paste materials from electronic sources increases the risks of infringement of the rights of others, particularly intellectual property and other proprietary rights. Also, attaching documents may give rise to releasing information not intended - hence the importance of vetting attachments. If in doubt, please consult with your Network Administrator or Manager.

4. Extra caution needs to be taken with Email messages regarding any disparaging remarks that may be contained therein. An Email should be regarded as a written formal letter, the recipients of which may be much broader than the sender intended, and any defamatory or careless remarks can have severe consequences, as can any indirect innuendo. Avoid using indecent, obscene, sexist, racist or other inappropriate comments, whether written, cartoon, or otherwise. Email messages must not contain any words that may discriminate in age, gender, race, family status, marital status, religion, disability, sexual orientation or membership in the Traveller community.

5. Only subscribe to electronic services or other contracts on behalf of Glin National College if you have the express authority to do so from your Manager. Authority for subscriptions, including electronic subscriptions, rests with your Manager. Unless you are one of those delegated persons, you have no power to enter into any binding commitment on Glin National College via Email or the Internet.

6. If you receive any offensive, unpleasant, harassing or intimidating messages via Email, you are requested to inform your Manager immediately. We must trace such Emails as quickly as possible.

7. Any important or potentially contentious communication you have received through Email should be printed, and a hard copy kept. Where essential to do so, you should obtain confirmation that the recipient has received your Email.

8. Documents prepared by Glin National College for clients may be attached via Email. However, if substantial, excerpts from reports other than our own may be in breach of copyright, and the author's consent ought to be obtained where taken out of its original context. Information received from a client should not be released to another client without the prior consent of the original sender. If in doubt, consult with your Network Administrator or Manager.

9. Glin National College reserves and intends to exercise the right to review, audit, intercept, access and disclose all messages created, received or sent over the electronic mail system for any purpose. All computer passwords must be provided to your Network Administrator.

Notwithstanding the organisation's right to retrieve and read any electronic mail messages, other employees should treat such messages as confidential and accessed only by the intended recipient. Employees are not authorised to retrieve or read any email messages not sent to them. Any exception to this policy must receive prior approval from your Network Administrator. However, the confidentiality of any message should not be assumed. Even when a message is erased, it is still possible to retrieve and read that message. 

Infringement - Breach of Internet and Email Rules 

Any breaches of these rules will be treated seriously and subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Please refer to our Disciplinary Procedures on this site for details of our disciplinary procedures.