The disclosure of confidential information is a punishable act. The type of disseminated data affects the level of responsibility before the law. In legal law, there are criteria that are protected by different codes: civil, administrative or criminal. Each citizen may fall under the jurisdiction of one of them for providing free access to information that is considered a crime. If they are listed under the protection of legislative provisions and are regulated by regulatory enactments. The level of responsibility will be determined by the court for related violation factors.
What determines the severity of punishment
Before setting the level of guilt for the disclosure of confidential information, it is worthwhile to understand what applies to it by law and law. Confidentiality means privacy. Data contained in closed access to unauthorized persons is protected from their penetration by law, violators are punished. On guard is Federal Law No. 149 with Article 5, which states the security of information technology and shares materials by type of accessibility. But in any form, if a person has access to them, he cannot transfer information to outsiders other than the copyright holders.
If, due to unlawful actions, damage is caused to the enterprise or the employer, the perpetrator will be punished:
- disciplinary;
- material;
- administrative
- criminal.
Depending on the severity of the guilt, they determine which citizen should be responsible for the disclosure of confidential information, if the company is not secret, perhaps the management will be limited to simple dismissal.
Characteristics of Secrecy
Informational information has a broad concept. Federal law may restrict free access to them or completely ban them. If the data are so important that they threaten state security, they are classified as military secrets and belong to strategic importance. Such distribution, documentary or oral, is considered a serious crime and is strictly punishable. Disclosure of confidential information is classified as restricted. If they are not subject to publicly available information, law enforcement or supervisory authorities work with them to establish the law.
The secret should contain details:
- legal investigation;
- personal life of every citizen, his personal data;
- telephone conversations; correspondence;
- commercial actions of legal entities and individuals, if they are a secret defined by law and regulatory acts of the organization;
- professional information that was entrusted by the population to the employee - a doctor, lawyer, investigator.
From this we can conclude that the secret happens:
- state;
- commercial;
- official;
- personal;
- different.
Each employee in a responsible position is warned in advance that confidential information is not subject to disclosure.
Secrecy Procedure
First of all, both individuals and legal entities are required to keep their secrets in good condition. The court will satisfy the claim if the plaintiff took measures of reliable protection. Entrepreneurs can file a claim in any case if it is discovered that a confidential information leak or disclosure has occurred. But even in the rules of the road, the car owner can answer for the theft of his car when he leaves the keys in it.
Therefore, strict content requirements are set:
- Documentation with confidential data in places restricted to free access. It can be enclosed spaces or safes.
- Electronic data, their protection is carried out passwords, codes, logins.
- Paper and electronic media where there should be a special signature stamp warning of secrecy.
- Employment contracts, they prescribe conditions for employees in relation to trade secrets.
- Local acts, by order of passage, are approved by personnel whose positions allow working with information that is closed to the rest, they agree to keep corporate secrets and put their signatures under obligations.
If a data leak is detected, they should inform management, since inaction is also a violation of production discipline.
What belongs to the dissemination of information
Each company may have its own special case when employees participated in the disclosure of confidential information.
For instance:
- the engineer transferred the development of colleagues for a certain payment to competitors;
- due to a misunderstanding or wanting to get rich, the laboratory assistant provides access to criminal elements of society to enclosed spaces that contain data on trials of a new drug;
- boasting at the festive table of an employee of the secret department allowed the spread of word-of-mouth classified information;
- the specialist regularly made schemes, calculations, and details of technical discoveries outside the enterprise; these are serious criminal acts that the court is capable of qualifying.
Regardless of the status of the victim or organization, he can apply for restoration of justice to the legal department in a lawful manner; lynching is excluded.
Evidence base
Open a case in court on the unauthorized distribution of secret information in the presence of proven facts. The procedure is declarative in nature, as is any appeal to the court.
You need to file a claim with evidence:
- written testimonies from employees;
- fixed facts of sending documents;
- discovered copies made without special instructions from the management;
- observations recorded on the camera about illegal actions - transfer of documents to third parties, their copying, photographing.
- identification of indirect signs, there is no evidence, but there is a leak, while one of the employees has access.
The disclosure of confidential information under the contract is prohibited, this is one of the requirements for personnel when hiring individual specialists. Conditions of secrecy also contain job descriptions.
For whom disciplinary action is enough
If the management decides that the employee will no longer allow himself to neglect, he will not be fired, but only:
- will be warned;
- make a comment;
- will lose the prize ;
- reprimand.
Such penalties are disciplinary, in their signs there is no direct intent, no damage.
What actions are punished under the administrative code?
A fine for the disclosure of confidential information in the amount of 10,000 rubles is provided if personal or commercial data was distributed. Administrative violations do not contain the transfer of state secrets to third parties. Proceedings are being conducted regarding actions within enterprises for transferring competitors information about the working procedure, structure, and implementation of new developments in production.
Serious responsibility
According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation convicted of criminal offenses. Article 183 regulates penalties for the disclosure of confidential information if citizens illegally received and disseminated information belonging to commercial, tax, banking secrets. When documents were stolen, bribery occurred, pressure on people with the help of threats, misconduct fall under the scope of Federal Law No. 193 or No. 420.
The degree of responsibility depends on the severity of the crime:
- penalties for salary or annual income;
- correctional or forced labor;
- deprivation of liberty.
Only the Penal Code provides for a real prison term for misconduct that falls under its jurisdiction.
Civil Rights Violations
According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, liability is provided for in the following cases:
- neglect of their professional duties;
- harming the subject;
- causing moral damage for the dissemination of personal data.
If the professional activity and the employment contract contain conditions that the information is confidential and not subject to disclosure, and the employee is acquainted and signed the requirements, then he is responsible for any violation of this nature.
Content and features of signed agreements
Companies work in different production areas. Managers and founders of enterprises try to protect themselves from the spread of secrets by nature:
- scientific and technical;
- technological;
- financial;
- business.
To maintain secrecy, institutions sign agreements that information is confidential in work processes and is not subject to disclosure.
Specialists sign obligations to maintain:
- after studying and acquaintance with any data, do not use them for your own needs;
- inform management of third-party attempts to learn production secrets;
- comply with confidentiality standards and requirements;
- when access to secret developments ceases, observe the deadline for confidentiality during the period established by the local act.
After signing the agreement, the employee agrees to disciplinary or other liability stipulated by the agreement. The staff before hiring and after, when he begins his duties, is repeatedly checked by the organization’s security service. At first, they thoroughly study the transferred documents. Allow to sign an employment contract and non-disclosure agreement. Provide a trial period, familiarize with access to confidential data. During this period, a specialist is evaluated not only by professional skills, but also by his conversations. When a dismissal occurs, a former colleague is warned of the consequences if they disclose non-secrets to him.