established a reasonable expectation of privacy for email by making it
illegal to intercept or disclose private communications in digital form.
But beware. Your email could still be read by others. -
The ECPA doesn't prevent employers from looking at employee
email. The courts have stated that there is "no
reasonable expectation of privacy" in email communications on company-owned
systems. MOST companies and some universities monitor email and web
activities on their systems.
Security Concerns - Depending on
how you configure your email program, even your personal (i.e. yahoo, gmail,
hotmail) email may be stored on your companies computer hard drive. Just like
any file on that drive, this mail is accessible to anyone who gains physical
access to your computer. The email on your hard drive can be read by others
unless your computer is behind a locked door or you have taken precautions, such
as encrypting files or password-protecting your machine. Another option is to
store your mail on a disk or removable drive when you are away from your
machine. By keeping your "personal" email account (i.e. yahoo, gmail, hotmail)
on a your "personal" device (see:
http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/browsers/portable) anyone reading your
email would have to break several state and federal laws to accessing their
personal account and device under
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18
U.S.C. '' 2510-2521,
TITLE 18 >
PART I >
CHAPTER 47 > § 1030(a)(3) " Hot Mail e-mails
stored on Microsoft's servers were in electronic storage pursuant to the Act,
which defines 'electronic storage' as '(a) any temporary, intermediate storage
of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission
thereof; and (b) any storage of such communication by an electronic
communication service for purposes of backup protection of such communication.'
If defendants did indeed view the contents of plaintiff's hot mail account 'they
would have obtained plaintiff's email in violation of the act.'"
Prying can also take place during transmission of a message.
"Packet sniffing" on the Internet is a continuing problem. Sniffer programs can
capture all data traveling over a network, including the contents of email
messages. Thus it is very important to remember that sensitive or confidential
information may be intercepted.
If you are using another Internet service provider for email
at home or while traveling, it's a good idea to find out what their policy is
regarding the privacy and confidentiality of email. If you use systems such as
hotmail, always sign out when you are done.
Also, anyone who receives one of your email messages can
forward it to other individuals or groups, even if that was not your intent.
Recipients can also archive or print messages. You have no way of knowing when
this happens.
The Bottom Line - Don't send
anything in email that you wouldn't be willing to send in an unsealed envelope.
As a medium of communication, email may lend itself to spontaneity, but the
messages you send and receive can have a very long shelf life. There is no
guarantee about who will read a message, or when.
