Jisc Legal : Computer Misuse

The prevalence of computer related crime means that FE and HE institutions are affected in many of the same ways as other businesses, organisations and individuals.

This Cybercrime overview paper explores the main obligations imposed on institutions concerning the provision and use of IT facilities in terms of cybercrime.

This guidance is designed to help institutions deal with consent management when sharing personal data across and between institutions and external service providers.

In this guide, you’ll find summaries of the key legal considerations of using Facebook in an FE and HE context.

This paper considers the legal issues which arise in relation to the taking of or possession of images (still and moving) of children for use in an Open Education Resource. 

This guidance document examines the Digital Economy Act 2010 and its implications for universities and colleges in the UK.

The purpose of this Model Policy is to outline the circumstances in which it is permissible for an institution to access the IT accounts of staff members or students.

Webcast providing practical guidance on legally accessing user email accounts, computer hard drive or network storage.   

The prevalence of computer related crime means that FE and HE institutions are affected in many of the same ways as other businesses, organisations and individuals.

This Cybercrime overview paper explores the main obligations imposed on institutions concerning the provision and use of IT facilities in terms of cybercrime.

Legal issues which may affect the development and use of particular ePortfolio systems.

This paper summarises the legal issues involved in the development and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in learning and teaching.

Some links to further resources.

Clearly the Principal has to be very careful and one of the first difficulties is that someone has to make a decision as to whether the material involved is illegal ... (cont)

 Under the Regulatory and Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) some public authorities (e.g. the police) are empowered to ask a college or university ... (cont)

The purpose of the reforms is to ensure that defamation legislation is fit for modern times.  The Act aims to strike a balance between the right to freedom of expression and the protection of reputation.

ACAS guide offers practical tips on the impact of social networking on discipline and grievances, bullying, defamation, data protection and privacy.

With input from JISC Legal, JISC has put out a summary of "Resources to help combat cybercrime" - helping institutions avoid the consequences of being a victim of computer misuse, or being an inadvertent agent in some else's criminal activity.

The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has published its report ‘Security and Resilience in Governmental Clouds’ which assesses the operational, legal, and security requirements of cloud computing.

Guidance for public sector organisationsaims to make current equality law more consistent, clearer and easier to follow in order to make society fairer.

e-Safety resources, including a sample audit and core policy.

The Internet Watch Foundation, established in 1996, aims to minimise the availability of online criminal content.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre delivers a multi-agency service dedicated to tackling the exploitation of children.

The EFF is a lobbying organisation which campaigns for consumer rights and monitors cases and legislative changes relevant to the sphere of digital technologies.
http://www.eff.org/.

Links to news items about legal and regulatory aspects of the Internet and the information society, particularly those relating to information content as well as technology.  http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/comcrime.htm.  

One of a series of exclusive features focusing on different aspects of crime.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2001/life_of_crime/cybercrime.stm.

The Charter is aimed at three user groups and is available here -
http://www.ja.net/development/legal-and-regulatory/regulated-activities/charter-for-system-administrators.html.

Factsheets focusing on various aspects of information security, and good practice in information security have been published for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. They can be accessed from the BERR web site at:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/sectors/infosec/infosecadvice/resources/checklistshowtoguides/page33298.html.

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) produced a briefing document in October 2006 on data encryption. It provides an outline of the various encryption techniques, how they may be applied and some discussion of government initiatives under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to help criminal investigations deal with encrypted data. The document has been published as POSTnote 270 and is available on the Parliament website at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn270.pdf.

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) produced a briefing document in October 2006 on computer crime. It provides a general overview, with an indication of the legislation and policy initiatives to combat it. The document has been published as POSTnote 271 and is available on the Parliament website at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn271.pdf.

JISC has worked with UCISA (Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association) to produce an Information Security Toolkit aimed at assisting educational establishments to protect themselves, their staff and students from online threats. The toolkit is available on the UCISA website at http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/ist