Basic Facts about E-mail Privacy

A manager of a major New York bank made the remark, "In the early days of PCs, users worried that if they hit the wrong button, their computer would explode. Now, with so many people on networks, that fear is much closer to the truth. The potential for inadvertently doing harm to your employer and coworkers--or to yourself--has increased dramatically." Keep these facts in mind.

1. While e-mail may allow you to say things electronically that you might never say to a person's face, it would be a good idea to remember that once sent, the message cannot be retrieved.
2. E-mail definitely suggests more privacy than it delivers. It is relatively easy on many systems to broadcast a message to everyone on a network list. On some systems, by keying in a semicolon instead of a colon, you could send a private message to everybody.
3. Over distribution is a possibility as well. In some systems the source of a message is crucial. If an e-mail message is addressed to several people and the receiver does not specify who is to receive the reply to that message, it may go to everyone on the list (if the Reply function is used).
4. A message sent to one person may be read by many before it reaches its destination. It could turn up in very unexpected places--any place, in any office in the world, including the office next door.
5. All system managers have access to user files on their systems. Whether or not they look at the files/e-mail depends on the individual system manager. Most do not have the time or would not even have the inclination to bother. Some are more curious than others. Some institutions and corporations notify the user that mail may be monitored. Some have security systems that flag on certain words, phrases, and commands (security measures against hackers and crackers who would invade their systems).
6. This may be true, not only of your own system and at the destination itself, but of the systems your e-mail gets sent through on its way to its destination. The system managers at those sites could conceivably, stop the mail, look at it, then send it on.
7. Mail has the possibility of bouncing. The user would then receive a message from the postmaster that the mail bounced for whatever reason. But not only do you get your message back with a tagged-on "postmaster" reply, but the system's postmaster (an actual living, breathing human, generally the system's manager) receives a copy of the message. The purpose of this is to help him/her figure out the problem of why the mail bounced and possibly help. Hopefully, that bounced mail is not embarrassing, compromising, or unethical (selling trade secrets or selling pornographic materials) because it can conceivably be read by the postmaster or even the FBI that may have "monitoring" sites set up along the Internet route. That is why the standard rule in sending e-mail is "Don't send anything you would not mind seeing on the evening news." Considering what has already happened across the country, this is not an exaggeration. It has been a reality for some. The best advice to follow is never send anything on a network that requires anonymity or that would embarrass you. If you would not like to see it posted on a public bulletin board, use another method of conveying the message. E-mail is called "broadcasting" for a very good reason.
8. Another matter to consider is that spontaneity and informality sometimes lead to embarrassment. Messages are often sent without rereading or editing. It is easy to forget spelling and grammar in an informal message, but what the receiver will think about the lapse is a different matter.
9. In reality, network confidentiality is an illusion. To manage and support a network, someone has to be able to see everything. Also, with a large system, backups are made regularly, and your mail goes in right along with the rest of the backup.