Ellie Richards
Unit 4
P5 P6 M2

P5- explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use
Of business information

Email Policy
Within Strode College, they recognise how important it is to have efficient communications between all the colleagues who work within the college. Electronic mail, also know as Emails is one of the most popular methods of communication, it’s quick, easy, and can be done at anytime. It also means you don’t have to use any paper, which is always a plus. The staff within Strode College have a duty to make sure that all of the email services are only used in a sensible and appropriate way. In addition to this, there are lots of new opportunities that now exist to transmit Email messages to and from other external sources, these new opportunities will bring them associated security and legal risks, and they have to make sure that this is all under control and that they handle any possible legal risks and security issues professionally. The college also has the right to monitor any aspects of its telephone and computer systems that are made available to you and monitor, intercept and record any communication that has been made by other members of staff within Strode. This can involve things such as telephone calls, emails, and any other methods of internet communications. To make sure that that there is compliance within this policy, or any other purpose authorised under the telecommunications (Lawful Business Practise and Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000, members of staff will be deemed as part of their acceptance of their terms and conditions of employment within the college. Computer and email accounts that are made via Strode College are designed to assist the performance in how your work is affected. You should there for have no expectation of privacy in any email sent or received by another individual, whether it is business related or something that is more personal. Your line manager would also be given authority by a member of the executive management team to have the ability to examine emails at any time they feel that they need to. An example of the legal policy when it comes to the Email services within Strode College would be the data protection act, where the College make sure that all of the members of staff and students information stays safe and is not able to get out to the public. This also includes the documents that are saved on students and members of staff’s computers, such as files and word documents, and any other assignments that have been completed by the students. Personal emails would also come under this.

The Data Protection Act was passed through parliament so that they could control the way that their information is handles, also it additionally gives people legal rights when it comes to who has information stores against them. Many different European Union countries will have had to have passed similar laws due to the fact the information of different people would have been held in more than one or two countries, Before Strode College can collect any kind of data, whether it be from their students, staff members, etc. They must gain consent from them and also by following these eight principles of the act properly…

- The information must be processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless certain conditions are met –

- This basically means that Strode College has to have a particular and legitimate reason for needing to have any individual’s personal data, an example of this would be enrolling students or hiring new staff members, also they must firstly be eligble to collect the actual data in the first place, they cannot use the data unlawfully or irresponsibly, as this would be breaching this type of act.

- The information must be obtained only for specified and lawful purposes and shall not be processed in any manner incompatible with those purposes –

- This means that the college must follow this principle by having a clear idea of what they want to achieve by keeping an individual/individuals data, additionally to this, the college can only use the data for the purposes that they have said they would use them for, and only that.

- The information must be adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes –

- This means that Strode college can only withold data if it is relevant to what they actually need, the college cannot withold anymore information than what they have said they would use it for, for example; only for academic, publicity, health and safety purposes, etc.

- The information must be accurate and kept up to date –This means that the information concerning the individual has to be kept updated for reasons such as if their address or phone number changes in case of an emergency, and if parents need to be called or contacted. Also, if someone developed any kind of illness, then their medical files would need to be updated so that things are kept accurate and upto date. As well as the fact that if an individual has allergies, then the college will know about this and can keep a note of it for any future preferences.

- The information must not be kept longer than necessary for any purpose –

- This means that the college are not allowed to keep any individuals data and files for longer than what it needs to be held for, an example of this would be; all schools are only allowed to keep a pupil’s information for up to 5 years, after they have left. If their information and files are kept for longer than this, then they would be classed as breaching the act policy.

- The information should be processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights under the act’s policy –This means that an individual/individuals have the right to have a copy of any kind of information that is being held, as long as it concerns and is about them. They can also have the ability to withdraw any information that is regarding themselves as any information that they do not want to be held, shouldn’t be. And if it’s found to be held by the college, then they would be classed as breaching the act. It would also mean that both the students and members of staff here would be able to retain the right to have any incorrect information written about them, erased.

- The information should be kept safe from any unauthorised access, any accidental loss or any destruction –

- This basically means that Strode College themselves would be able to retain the right to design their security systems, so that they can fit the nature of their data. They would also have the ability to be 100% sure that any kind of information would not be able to be stolen from those premises, they would also have the ability to be prepared at any time for a breach of the act, basically meaning that they would have to repost accurately to make up for this breach.

- Finally, the information must not be transferred to a country outside of the European Economic Area, unless that country has the equivalent levels of protection for their personal data. –

- This one means that Strode College do not have the ability and would not be able to transfer any kind of documented information or data that is regarding their pupils and members of staff to any other kind of organisation, for example another college, organisation, country, etc.

Strode College make sure that they follow through all of these policies, because all of these eight policies play an extremely big parts within the college, this is because any individuals personal details and data are confidential and their private information. And because of this, it must not be shown ot transferred to anybody or anywhere that is without their consent, due to the fact that this would end up causing problems for the individual, and also to the college because it would mean that they have breached this policy of the act. Because of this, it is highly inportant and essential that the college follows all of those eight principles so that they can keep the Data Protection Act upto date with the legal laws etc. Everyones personal data is gathered by the college to make sure that it can be managed by both of the staffs and students properly and accurately. The majority of this information is classed as confidential, there for because of this it has to be handled and used in an appropriate manner. The main idea of this is that Strode College follows the principles of the Data Protection Act, and it shows that it is committed to using the sensitive, personal information of the staff and students accurately. This would be essential due to the fact that it means each individual within the college will be a lot happier when it comes to providing their information, files, data, etc information to the College. It would also go a long way when it comes to putting both members of staff and students at ease when it comes to how their information is handles, it will help them to make sure that everything regarding the information is followed closely, accurately, safely, etc.

Data Protection Act/Legalisation
The college management information systems data is registered under the act for staff use. Students are not allowed to store any kind of personal information such as passwords or anything else that is related to another individual, this is against the data protection act policy. And the students who need to prepare any kind of data need to make sure that it is only based upon fictitious individuals. It is also under the Data Protection Act that Moodle and the Strode College website do not save any of the students or members of staff personal details. When it comes to legalisation, all members of staff are required to not undertake any activity that would take place either themselves or the College in breach of any kind of current legalisation. This could be civil or criminal. The main example of this would be… 1. Copyright law- Users don’t usually automatically store or reproduce any files which someone holds the copyright, in most cases the use of the documents is permitted subject to certain conditions, and it is important that you comply with any declared conditions. Care should always be taken when you are downloading any files that are coming from the internet and any other source. The act may also cover the storing or reproduction of software applications.
An example of the copyright law within Strode College would be that students are not allowed and will have consequences if they commit any kind of copyright factors, this includes things such as copying other students work, or getting other bits of information via the internet and copying it all word for word.

Freedom of Information Act This act gives you as an individual, the ability to be able to acess any information that has been recorded and held by a public sector organisation. Anybody can request the information, it mean sthat there will be no restrictions to your age, where you live, what nationality you have, religion, etc. You as an infividual will be given bits of information depending on a few different regulations, this is due to the fact that some of these regulations would fall under the Data Protection Act.
Where to find the information?
Strode College provides the information that is regarding the fact, with a link that takes you to another page, and it is where most other links can be found. It takes you to more pages that are regarding other links, documents, governance, OFSTED, skills, funding, administration, as well as many others. The college has to provide the information due to the fact that if they had failed to do so, then the public searching for this information would end up not having a clue where to find what it is that they are trying to find. Also, if the college happened to fail to provide the directions of where this information was being kept, then they would end up being clueless on where they should look, as an overall, they do have the right to be able to acess that kind of data and those files. The college also provide the public with other different links that other organisations may be interested in, this can be things such as OFSTED, etc. Different organisations would be interested in this too, as they would like to see what they are up against when it comes to what it is they need to improve on or achieve when it comes to becoming a better college than Strode. The links that are provided, are there so that they have the ability to allow people to see where this kind of information is being kept, and as well as this, the college will provide information about who to contact, as well as how to contact them if they need to have anymore information that is regarding what they are looking for within the Strode College website. They will put this kind of information on the website, this is so that the public will be able to see who they contact, at what times, and also how. There is also a small paragraph that is all about what procedures to do when it comes to finding other sources and other bits of information, an example of this would be when it tells you about how much it could cost you to get these certain bits of information, all depending on what it is and what it concerns and involves. It will also tell you how long it may take to receive the information that you want to get.The college has stated several times that these different procedures in order for the individual to find out how much of their information would cost them, as well as where they would have to get it from, as if they didn’t know how to get this information then it may be that they would end up having to think about the fact their requests have not been seen or maybe have not been dealt with properly. The Strode College website then goes on to describe how much money that the college recieves, as well as what they spend it on, what it goes towards, etc. The reason that they have provided this bit of information, is because people who pay taxes, will of course want to know what their tax money goes towards, and will then want to know how their money and if their money is actually being spent on their child’s education. And of course they wouldn’t want their money being spent on things that are not appropriate and not essential to the college. This information that is given, is done so by somebody who deals with the college funding’s, this is so that people who are reading this information will be assured that the funding is actually being looked after by somebody who is well trained within their job and somebody who knows what it is they’re meant to be doing, this makes them a reliable source and it also puts the readers at ease, and they will have more faith and reasurance when it comes to where and what their money is going towards. There is also a section on the Strode College website that tells you about how the college themselves are doing, and also what their main priorities are. The main reason for this information being given, is so that it can show people who pay taxes, what their money is going towards, and it shows that the money being spent is going towards making Strode a better place, and it’s going towards improving the facilities for the students and also the members of staff. The website then goes on to share a link that is refering and relating to OFSTED, this allows people to see what the college’s overall rating is, and as well as stating that, there are also different principle reports that allow people to find out about how well their students have done within previous years, and also how well the students are doing now, so it keeps it more upto date too. On this site page, there is also a part that talks about what the college does and also who Strode themselves are shown to be, this shows who actually runs the college, for example this would be the govenors, the head teacher (James Staniforth( as well as who runs the various different departments within the college (this would be different members of staff). The college has to give this information out because of the fact that there are various different people out there, mostly parents ho are paying taxes, and wanting to see whre their taxing and funds go. This proves that these individuals would like to find out whether Strode College is actually being run how it should be, this particular section of the site gives out different bits of information that is regarding how the college itself is actually organised and run, it also includes information that is regarding different doecuments, data, links, etc. And also any code of conduct of which the college has to follow, it is there for being put on there so that it can show people that the college is being run in a way that is legal and most of all, correct. Also, the fact that the college’s decisions are put onto the website, for example it is stating about the governors meetings and other kinds of specific ideas from the principles reports, it informs others about the college’s decisions that are regarding the welfare of the college, the students, and of course the members of staff. There are also different meetions that get held by others that are outside of the college, they are regarding who is in charge of the institutions all over the country, and this kind of information is provided so that anybody can have the ability to find out about what different decsisions are being made. Lastly, there are also some policies and procedures of which the college has to follow. These are discussed in different meetings, and as well as the fact that some specific policies are avalible to view on the Strode College website for many different people to see. The reason that Strode College has to show how their procedures and policies are made, and followed, is so that people can find out about the college. The fact that Strode College follw these terms of the Freedom information act, basically means that the different stakeholders within the college will then be able to view the information of which they have a right to. This inportant because it means that they will not be made to feel unhappy with the college when they are not able to get hold of the information that they want. This is because Strode College is a public sector organisation that is paid for by taxes, the many different stakeholders will want to see these bits of information and of course the Freedom of Information act makes sure that they can do this.

Computer Misuse Act:

Here at Strode College, there is a strict policy that clearly says that it is not allowed for anybody to be using the Strode College computers for any kind of illegal or excplicit activity. The computers themselves also cannot be used for any kind of abusive, racist, offensive, insulting, behaviour towards any other individual. The Strode College computers are only meant for work purposes. The college themselves follows this particular act by making sure that they filter any websites that may have anything on there that could be classed as illegal,offensive, or just anything in general that isn’t meant to be used on the Strode College computers. Strode has the ability to be able to take any particular legal action to a student or member of staff that has been abusing the right to use the computers, and also anybody who has broken the act.

These are the 3 main criminal offences of which come under the Computer Misuse Act:

1. Unauthorised access to computer material.

2. Unauthorised modification of computer material.

3. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.

Data Misuse and unauthorised transfer/coping:

Strode College has a zero tolerane policy when it comes to individuals within the college, copying one anothers work. An example of this would be if a student is caught copying somebody elses work within an exam, then they will be warned about this and punished for it, because it is classed as breaching the Data Misuse Act. All of the individuals work within college is looked at properly by whoever is marking their work, this is so that the marker will be able to tell if it is actually the individuals work, or if they have stolen it or copied it from another individual. Students within the college are allowed to help one another and give eachother advice on the work, but it is against the regulations to copy one anothers assignments. All of this is important, and Strode College make sure that they keep a close eye on each student who is in their class. This is due to the fact that if a student passes the course that they have done, and they have done this by copying another individuals work through out the wholecourse, then it would not actually be useful to that individual due to the fact that they don’t have those skills, they have just copied somebody elses. It’s important that plagarism isn’t participated within the college, and it’s upto the tutors within the college to make sure that they can try and prevent this from happening, by looking at the individuals work carefully and checking through every last detal. It’s also important that the Computer Misuse Act is followed through correctly and accurately, this is due to the fact that sometimes emails are sent and received responsibly, and if it wasn’t then whoever had sent or received the emails could get into trouble, this would be depending on the content of the email, for example if it had nothing offensive in it, then nothingwould be considered as wrong with this. But the security here needs to be keeping an eye on this, as it is important to keep everybody and everybodys work safe within the college and also the college campus, anything that is innopropriate is meant to be reported as soon as it occurs.

Hacking:

Hacking is something that can be done and is something that is done for reasons such as to get hold of somebody elses work, to get hold of somebodys personal information, to invade somebody’s privacy, etc. But at Strode College, there is a strong policy that is agianst this and will take action if it is found that anybody is following this through. Strode College try to prevent this by making sure that all of the memebers of staff and students within Strode College, have strong passwords that would make it almost impossible for anybody to guess sthem. Strode College students are also told that they should not leave their computers logged on ever, even if it’s only for a few seconds, they must lock their computers just because of that small possibility that somebody may do something on their account, such as take work, send emails, etc. It’s important within Strode College that everybody follows through these rules, and that everybody is treated as an individual therefor does not want just any random person being able to get acess to their accounts.

Email Policy:

At Strode College, the members of staff know how important it is that there is an effective and good communication method between the members of staff and also with their pupils. There are many different efffective ways for them to communicate such as verbal, face to face, etc. But the main method that is used is emailing, this is because it can be done at anytime, it’s easy, and you don’t have to be with the person to discuss the work. It also means that if students have any questions about the work, and the teacher isn’t around, then they can just send the email without having to look around trying to find the teacher. Even though these uses are good and helpful, there are rules that are set so that the use of the email method is only used for appropriate uses and no innopropriate behaviour or context should be participated by any of the parties. There are several different uses that exist that are used to send emails to and from, internal, and also external uses. These will however being in asscoiated security and also some legal risks. The college has to make sure that all of these are maintained properly and also kept under a strong control, and also as well as having to handle any other possible risks in a profeshional manner. The college also has the right to monitor all of the emails and phone systems that are sent within the college, this is simply because if there is an inappropriate message that has been sent or received, it can be tracked back to the sender and the reciever, and because of this, it makes sure that Strode College will be in total compliance with the Email Policy’s that have been set. It’s important that Strode follow throygh these regulations and also keep an eye on things, because it could be classed as some kind of evidence if the investigation had to go on further and if something serious ever happened, this would mean that by having proof, legal action would be able to be taken.

Strode College have their own particular policies and rules when it comes to using the email services via Moodle, including:

4. Students are not allowed to use any kind of unacceptable language whilst emailing one another.

5. Any types of messages are not allowed to come across as too abrupt as it can be seen and classed as rude in some cases.

6. Do not load or transmit any programmes received or sent as email attachments.

7. Certainly disclose any information that could be classed as inappropriate to the Data Protection Act.

8. Sending unnecessary/inappropriate messages that could be classed as offensive, sexist, racist, etc.

9. Do not over-use on capital letters as the receiver of the email could perceive it as though you may be shouting, or expressing certain kinds of anger, as though you may be trying to intimidate them.

10. Students must not send emails of which are illegal, sexually explicating, obscene, or embarrassing to either of the individual of whom it is aimed at, or the college as it could be classed as abusive and offensive.

- Explain the operational issues of which Strode College experiences in relation to the use of business information:

The security within Strode College is something that is an extremely important factor, due to the fact that it’s such a big college and because of this, it obviously holds a larger amount of indormation that is held against each of the individuals who attend the college, and also the members of staff who work here. The college have a duty to make sure that they maintain a good level of security, this is because that everybody’s information within the college has to be protected at all times, because that is what the Data Protection Act states. An example of this would be if student had an address that had changed, they would need to inform the college of this information, this is for reasons such as if the student has to have letters sent home, if the college were not made aware of this then they could end up sending a personal letter to somebody else’s house due to the fact that they were not made aware of the students new address. This would also be classed as breaking the Data Protection Act, as they had been effectively been given acess by somebody else to be able to see a private database and private confidential information. As a result of this, it could then potentially lead to there being harm put onto the students, as other people would have been sent private information about them. And because of this, the information being held by the college is also protected by a contractual agreement, it will mean that for example- if a student or a new student comes to enrol within the college, then they will have to sign a contract saying what information the college are allowed to keep, and also what they will be able to use it for. And when a member of staff agrees to sign this contract regarding their career, the data could maybe include both their financial and commercialy sensive data that could be provided by a private sector company, the main reason behind this, and why it is so important and essential for the college to follow through these procedures properly, is down to the fact that if in any case any of the disclosed information happened to be leaked or sent to the wrong person, then it could end up causing issues for the person who the information is concerning. And because of this, the college would need to keep every single last detail of the information confidential and of course private. Simply because they could maybe end up breaching the Data Protection Act, and they would be putting themselves in danger by ending up being prosecuted because of these actions, and end up being punished due to this. By making sure that all of the information that is provided is kept safe and private, it will require a number of different ways to make sure that it is being kept retained safely. The first being that everything has to contain strong passwords that makes It pretty much impossible for anybody to be able to guess. This means that the account is not at risk of being put at danger, and they will have a stronger amount of privacy. Aso, it will mean that by having these passwords on the accounts, it would mean that hackers would find it impossible to get into other individuals accounts within the college. This also means that another security measure would be that the college make it essential that each members of staff wear name badges and also a pass, this allows people to see exactly who they are and it shows that they have a reason to be within the college. This also allows the members of staff to have authority that they need in order to be able to follow out simple procedures within the college, for example be able to have acess to get into certain rooms within the college, acess documents that they need to get hold of, etc. One of the reasons of why Strode College get their staff doing this, is basically because they are the only people within the college who should actually be able to get hold of information (as mentioned before, the documents etc.) The college find it important that each member of staff has proof of who they are and what their job is within the college, this prevents just anybody being able to walk into the college and pretend that they are someone they’re not. As they would be able to get acess of private documents and data, and also get information on the students or members of staff, this would be classed as a breach of the Data Protection Act, and also the contractual agreement says that no-one is able to acess any kind of data, apart from the members of staff within the college who are actually authorised to be able to do so. Another type of security which the college follow through, is that any bits of information that needs to be gone and disposed of, needs to be done carefully, so that there is no trace of the information that is on the paper or on a computer document, this is because sometimes people just throw away bits of paper and they don’t realise that it can be lying around for days, and other people may be able to see that information that’s on paper that could be somebody elses private information. So it has to be that there is no trace of the information once it has gone. An example of this, would be if a students address, home number, and family details were on paper and somebody had thrown it away, if it was just lying round in a recycling bin, then anybody would have the ability to pick it up and get that individuals information, on the unliklely scale of this, if it got into the wrong hands and the individual started to get threats, or people coming to their door, then this would reflect on the college and they would be classed as breaching this act..