A web developer was fired from his job after the company he worked for alleged that he used their equipment for personal use.

The unnamed company had alerted its employees that internet traffic and other work-computer use would be permanently logged and saved. It did not explain how that was to be achieved.

In a lawsuit brought by the employee against the company for wrongful dismissal, the company alleged that it had caught the employee working on a computer game for another company.

The plaintiff argued that he was working on a project for his father’s company and only during his ten minute breaks.

The case revolves around the use of keylogging software. Spyware developer Flexispy describes a “legislative gap” that “does not reach Keylogger technology”. It advises potential clients that keylogging is usually legal in the U.S., but may vary from state to state.

Spyware developer Gecko Monitor professes that it is perfectly legal for people to spy on one another “as long as the person who installed the keylogger program is the owner of the computer or device that the software is being installed on”.

However, the judge in the case ruled that using keylogger spyware to monitor one’s employees is against the law.

Source: Naked Security