Airlink lays complaint against former executive
A criminal complaint has been filed against SAA head of sales and marketing Carla da Silva and several other staff members that report to her.
According to a report in The Citizen, the charge was laid last week by her former employer, Airlink, and comes on the heels of civil action for the alleged theft of sensitive data from the airline.
The complaint alleges industrial espionage and theft of incorporeal property after Da Silva purportedly copied a key database containing sensitive information belonging to Airlink.
It is alleged Da Silva copied the information prior to leaving the private airline’s employment late last year.
Airlink CEO Rodger Foster said the company was compelled to report it as a suspected crime.
The complaint includes the registration of a criminal case of theft of incorporeal property in terms of the Cybercrimes Act.
The Hawks are investigating the complaint.
Forensic investigator Chad Thomas of IRS Forensic Investigators said that the criminal complaint laid by Airlink could be a game-changer.
‘In the past, it was very difficult to prove the espionage, but with the Cybercrimes Act coming into effect in December 2021, it has provided a mechanism for defining the theft of incorporeal property as being the same as the common law charge of theft,’ said Thomas.
In her responding civil affidavit, Da Silva argued the information Airlink claimed was proprietary was, in fact, freely available publicly.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
