Exemption clauses: Liability for theft committed in the ordinary course of employment

In a recent decision of the Constitutional Court in Fujitsu Services Core (Pty) Limited v Schenker South Africa (Pty) Limited [2023] ZACC 20, the court had to consider exemption clauses in light of an employee stealing a consignment of laptops and accessories. The two main issues before the court were: 1) whether an exemption clause … Continue reading Exemption clauses: Liability for theft committed in the ordinary course of employment

Business e-mail compromise

Business email compromise (“BEC”) is a frequent occurrence in the modern digital world. BEC is a type of cybercrime which typically involves criminals unlawfully accessing an e-mail account to deceive someone into sending money to the wrong person, or divulging some confidential information.[1] The perpetrator usually pretends to be a trusted figure (such as a … Continue reading Business e-mail compromise

Cyber-crime through business e-mail compromise: Hawarden v Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc

The Johannesburg High Court handed down judgment on 16 January 2023 in a cyber-crime matter involving hacked e-mails and fraudulently altered bank details where R5.5 million Rand was stolen by fraudsters. This begs the question:- Who should carry the loss? The person who was responsible for the payment? The person hacked? In addition, what further … Continue reading Cyber-crime through business e-mail compromise: Hawarden v Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc

Registration of Information Officers & Deputy Information Officers in terms of POPIA

Information Officers (IO) and Deputy Information Officers (DIO) are required to register with the Information Regulator in terms of Section 55(2) of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Initially, the online portal had some technical challenges, but it is now live and fully functional – and is available here. One can also register via … Continue reading Registration of Information Officers & Deputy Information Officers in terms of POPIA

Data transfer agreements

Data Transfer Agreements There is no denying that in a modern society, data is incredibly valuable, with some even suggesting that “data is the new oil”. Whether in a business context, or in a scientific and research environment, data sharing and processing has become the norm rather than the exception. On a regular basis, we … Continue reading Data transfer agreements

Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI or POPIA) to commence on 1 July 2020

The Presidency has announced that most of the Protection of Personal Information Act will commence on 1 July 2020. These are the essential parts of the legislation that deal with how personal information should be processed (the eight key conditions for processing personal information – based on international best standards),unsolicited electronic marketing, codes of conduct, and … Continue reading Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI or POPIA) to commence on 1 July 2020

Can the South African Government monitor your whereabouts during the COVID-19 pandemic?

In short: Yes, if you are known to have contracted COVID-19, or reasonably suspected to have contracted COVID-19. In a state of disaster, in these unprecedented times, these measures are both lawful and reasonable for the reasons set out below. On 2 April 2020, amended regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act were published in … Continue reading Can the South African Government monitor your whereabouts during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Urgent action required if you have a South African domain

Yesterday on 26 March 2020, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies issued further regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act (Gazette No. 43164 of 26 March 2020). If you operate a website in South Africa and it has a top level .za domain (.co.za or .ac.za or .org.za) you must link to www.sacoronavirus.co.za on your … Continue reading Urgent action required if you have a South African domain