Take Business Email Seriously

Email has been in the news recently for more than just SPAM.

The biggest news item was VP candidate Sarah Palin's use of Yahoo Mail for government business. Apparently, the email account was not breached by any high level hacker attack, but by a weakness in the Yahoo Password Reset.

The other, not a well know, was at the media agency Carat. In that case a private email intended for senior managers was sent to all employees. The email detailed layoffs and 'talking points' of how to deal with clients.

Both these cases high light problems with human side of email. In the first case, Palin either chose to ignore, or wasn't aware of, rules for use of email for government business. And, like most people, wasn't fully aware of how insecure email is.

In the second case, it appears structures were not in place to prevent this type of error. While the HR VP is taking the heat for the error, clearly the IT department deserves some of the blame for not disabling the "Reply All" option.

Email is, in many respects like sending a digital postcard. Any server handling the email can read, copy or scan (thats the NSA for you conspiracy buffs) your email. Your server mailbox is like your post office mailbox, anyone with the key can access it. Except, online, they can keep trying keys until the find one that fits. Or, as is suspected in Sarah Palin's case, have a new key sent to them.

We all use email every day in our business. And, in most cases we don't understand the technology behind it. It is up to each company to develop their rules for the use of email. They must also clearly explain the reason for these rules if they expect people to follow them.