Logon Banners

Logon banners have been a common feature of operating systems and applications for many years. Organizations have adopted logon banners for a myriad of purposes, from threatening unauthorized users with severe repercussions to informing employees that they should not have an expectation of privacy on workstations. The impetus for logon banners typically comes from executive leadership or the legal department, often in response to an incident or lawsuit where such a disclaimer could have aided their stance. Drafting a comprehensive logon banner is daunting, especially when assigned to an arbitrary department with an expectation of quick completion. Understanding the common elements of a logon banner and having a framework to identify requirements, select elements, and write the text allows anybody tasked with implementing a logon banner to do so correctly the first time. This paper considers laws and legal topics from the perspective of the United States and may not be applicable to other jurisdictions.