Think everything's secure? Are you certain that the bold, somewhat sexist joke
you sent to Jim will never be seen by any other eyes... and that the date you made
(against office policy) will never be discovered as long as she/he doesn't tell (brag?).The
Difference is The Law
E-mail is not protected like the U.S. Mail, and it is legal for upper management to
read it. 60 Minutes, a CBS TV show, ran an excellent story about this widespread
problem for employees everywhere. Yes, according to one survey, 36 percent of
employers admitted to reading it. This number is most certainly higher than
36%, since we all know that many people must have said "no" out of shear
embarrassment.
Interviewees on the show talked of losing their jobs based upon the contents of what
they presumed to be private messages. What they wrote was taken out of context to
further the cause of others. People were judged unfairly, albeit, legally.
Consultants talked about restoring files that were deleted from computers by users who
thought the files were gone for good.
How can a deleted file be read?
First off, files are not really deleted when you press the delete key. Rather,
the area of the disk that contains the file is simply made available for the storage of
new information. However, until new information is actually written to that portion
of the disk, the file is recoverable. Another prime problem are the backup
tapes/server files that save your data, but also save everything else.
Since E-mail is usually stored on a server that is backed-up completely, every night,
if not more frequently, your deleted messages may come back to haunt you. Many of
today's sophisticated backup products can also automatically copy information stored on your
desktop computer, which is connected to the network. Although some of these products give
you the option of blocking personal files/directories from the backup, it is an
exceptional MIS department that will tell you how to do this.
Wow, are there other risks?
As for other security breaches, anyone using a protocol analyzer to test the wiring or
snoop, can capture the information packets that are being sent from one machine to
another. One of those packets might be your E-mail, your private
message.
Also, most system administrators can read everything on a server. Speaking of
reading, have you ever really read the Online Service Agreement from your Internet
Service Provider? Many forbid you to use certain offensive language. But, how
would they know if you were? Easy, all they have to do is look. And if they
find anything they consider offensive, your service could be terminated!
Don't wait until its too late. If you send E-mail, or share your computer with
anyone, find out how you can regain your privacy with WINciphr.
