Hacked Global Warming E-mails Highlight Importance of Security
As you've no doubt heard by now, hundreds of private e-mails were hacked last week from a British university, exposing to the public a slew of conversations by global warming researchers.
The e-mails have given ammo to both sides of the debate, with some folks claiming the e-mails show scientists clearly behaving unprofessionally and, at times, even manipulating their analyses to reach predetermined conclusions. Others say that there's no smoking gun. Either way, there are lessons to be learned from this debacle that you can apply to your own business practices.
E-mails are valuable business intelligence. No matter what your business, there's something in your e-mail that is worth protecting. Follow security protocols by changing your passwords periodically, and use smart, strong passwords to prevent your accounts from being cracked.
Don't say everything in e-mail. Some companies travel on e-mail in the same way that armies travel on their stomach. But even if your corporate culture is built around documenting everything in e-mail and using Outlook as a replacement for the telephone, take a step back and think about what kinds of business conversations you should not be having in e-mail. After all, e-mail is forever, and, if released, can be used to embarrass, discredit, or successfully sue you.
Be careful how you say that. Even ethical and legal conversations can sound sinister if interpreted out of context. Consider the global warming e-mails, which talked about how one scientist had, according to the New York Times, "used a 'trick' to 'hide the decline' in global temperatures." Advocates claim that's not as bad as it sounds, but the damage is done -- it sure sounds like those scientists were conspiring to publish bad science.
Limit who can forward confidential e-mail. If you've started a thread with potential business implications, don't be shy about restricting permissions so recipients can only reply to the message, not forward, print, or copy text out of it.
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