C.
Legal Safeguards
(1)
Confidentiality Statement: Companies and individuals using
email include should include confidentiality statements
warning persons who intercept the email that the communication
is private, should not be used or disclosed to third parties
and that they should immediately notify the sender.
(2)
Sensitizing Employees:
(a) Reminders: Reminders can include a statement to employees
that the email they are using is intended for business
purposes only. It is also advised that there be a reminder
that email system being used is not encrypted and may
be subject to interception by third parties. Highly sensitive
or private communications should probably not be sent
by standard email, but should be encrypted instead.
(b)
Case law from the United States demonstrates that email
carries an expectation of privacy that can be legally
protected. However, other factors can be considered, such
as a "for business use only" warning to employees, that
would allow such email to be disclosed to employers. Courts
in the United States have also ruled that email documents
may be subpoenaed for use in court. Defendants have challenged
a third party's rights to disclose or to subpoena their
email based on legal defenses that include invasion of
privacy and assertion of wiretapping and eavesdropping
Statutes
(c)
Policy regarding company privacy: Businesses should develop
specific policies concerning their email usage that requires
personnel to acknowledge and agree to the business's policy
before logging on: The policy acknowledgement and recognition
statement can be in the forum of a "log-on screen" that
requires the user to enter his password as confirmation.
D.
Technological Issues Concerning
(1)
Encryption: Encryption programs are used to encode email
so that only the intended recipient can decipher the code.
The higher degree of complexity of the encryption, the
more difficult it is to decode. This is know as having
a "longer key". Governments have attempted to place restrictions
on the level of encryption that can be used.
(2)
Email and document deletion: One of the methods a company
or individual can protect itself is top have periodically
deletions of all accumulated data and emails. This would
be the equivalent of a cyber-shredder.
Protecting
Information from Competitors
A.
Legal
methods of protecting proprietary information over the
Internet include registration and enforcement of intellectual
property rights, including the registration and enforcement
of one's domain name. |
