[geeks] 3Com's fight against terroism *rolls eyes*

[Rick Hamell]

Just thought you'd all like to take a look at this memo from 3Com to it's
tech support people. Is this getting pretty common in other companies?


Rick


Please read and make this second nature !


What? The PPL (Prohibited Parties List) is a list of parties that the US
Government has identified as parties to whom US Corporations may not
provide technical assistance or technical equipment for security reasons.

The penalties for providing technology (tech support, RMA's downloads, etc)
to these parties is imprisonment and fines of $10,000 ? $25,000 dollars.
3Com may terminate any employee responsible for providing assistance to
anyone listed on the PPL.

Why? For example, we would not want Al Qaeda Inc in Afganistan to be the
recipient of 3Com encrypted software. Nor would we want a 3Com engineer to
assist the Embassy of Iraq in Canada troubleshoot their router.

Who? Any person in a position to grant access to our technology must adhere
to the PPL Screening Process. THIS MEANS YOU.

When? 3Com has been engaged in planning the accommodation of this
requirement for several months. Screening will Go Live on February 16,
2002. This is Saturday so after hours be aware of this first thing Saturday
AM.

Where? The PPL screening tool is located at http://ppl/


How? There is a new system called "AES". AES will house the PPL data. Every
thirty minutes, all of the customer records in Clarify will cycle through
AES. If a Clarify customer record matches any AES PPL data ? it will be a
"hit" and that customer will be placed on PPL hold. Clarify will then not
allow any cases or Part Requests to be opened against that customer record.

For the most part PPL checking is automated. In customer service, however,
there are instances where thirty minutes does not lapse between customer
call and technical support. The PPL will need to be manually verified.

X When a new site is created or an existing record is edited ? and the
customer is entitled to Live Call Transfer, (LCT), technical support, the
agent must go to http://ppl/ and manually enter the customer data to ensure
the caller is not a on the PPL

What if I get a PPL "Hit"?

A PPL Hit will be one of two ways: either the agent has manually searched
and found the party on the PPL, or Clarify has marked a customer record as
PPL and the agent has received a PPL error message. When this occurs:
>An agent must escalate the issue to John, Gary, Jon or Hank directly.
>After hours page the On Duty Manager using the usual procedure.

X What to Tell customers on Trade hold

For temporary hits that have not been confirmed by the Trade Group: (This
means it hasn't been escalated yet)

"3Com screens all customer information to ensure compliance with U.S.
regulations. We require additional time to screen your request and update
our customer database. We should be able to assist you shortly. "

For true hits where the Case or PR is closed and no further support can be
provided:

"3Com screens all customer information against the U.S. lists of "Specially
Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" and "Table of Denial Orders."
Your name and/or address appear to match a listed party and we are
therefore unable to assist you at this time. If you believe that this
determination was made in error, I can forward your information to our
Trade department for further review."

If you have any questions ask first ... then act.
The consequences are very serious for letting one of these slip through the
cracks!