|
Where effect the commodities of indisputable and peculiar messaging cross? In an increasingly saturated Information Age, those lines become blurrier and blurrier. Even the fashionistas of Glamour Magazine have commented on how email has become a public space by simply hitting the "forward" button. In Glamours September 2005 issue, their Ask Jake column queried, "Do You Kiss and Email?" This article discussed the truism that more often, due to that pesky forward button, email is a public announcement. With each touch and forward an email its subject line becomes as obtrusive as the National Enquirer's bold screamer of a headline "Bat Boy Sighted!" The fundamental quality of the email, internet, IM is its potential binary permanence to be pondered and discussed, replied to and posted on the net. "Western history is full of ...words consulted and puzzled over as if they were Scripture"(1) Email living a new life beyond it s intended recipients is an extension of what the Information Age is being connected and staying connected. The lure to online communication and communicating via email is its immediacy, but that too is deceiving. When the send button is hit, your message appears to instantly pass from your computer to the recipient's inbox. This seems instantaneous, but it really isn't. Nearly all email messages make transitory stops along the way as they are directed by proprietary servers to their final destination. As messages arrive at each of these stops they are often stored, and sometimes copied or even scanned before being sent on. Information interception isnt just about who forwards your message on, but is also about who may seize that message when it's en route. Even if an email is stored for a microsecond during transfer many emails can be classified as "stored communications" The United States Courts recognize that stored communications are subject to an inherent loss of privacy and can legally be read by the owner of the server on which they were stored (2). Neither the sender nor recipient has to be informed that their email message and attachment's were read. Utilizing strong encryption for the transmission of content largely solves this problem. If an unwanted party happens to intercept an encrypted message (unless they have somehow gotten the encryption keys) they will not be able to decipher the message. If the interceptor attempts to break any one of the commonly used encryption algorithms, they would be hard-pressed to do so within their lifetime. They would be better off trying to crack the cryptographic code in Edgar Alan Poe's "The Gold Bug.' If it encryption works so well why don't more people encrypt their sensitive information? For certain types of communiqu and transactions, encryption is already used, such as with banking and purchasing online. Encryption for email and documents on the other hand has largely remained the luxury of the large enterprise businesses using Enterprise Rights Management (ERM) software and the technically elite. At this time, due largely to complications resulting from key exchange effectively folding encryption software into ones daily workflow turns out to be quite arduous. Encryption just hasnt been easy enough for the average small/medium sized business enterprise or individual computer user. Yet for any business enterprise no matter the size of the organization, keeping tabs on email and document communiqu is a necessity. Implementing encryption solutions doesn't have to be a financial burden. Rights management solutions can now be for small to medium-sized businesses or sole-proprietorships too. Small Business Rights Management(SBRM) solutions provide businesses of a smaller scale an equal level of user rights management and encryption previously available to large enterprise business. Standard ERM or SBRM software gives content authors the power to determine how recipients may use their email and documents. For example, senders can prevent unauthorized distribution (no forwarding, printing) and prevent unauthorized editing (no cut, copy, paste) of content, i.e. copy prevention. Email and document security is no longer simply an option for companies, it is a necessity. According to a 2005 FBI study regarding computer crime, financial losses stemming from the unauthorized distribution of digital information doubled from the year before. The study went on to specify that businesses are most concerned that confidential messages (75.7% of participants) and intellectual property (71.4%) will leave the organization via email. Couple those facts with the reality of costly user licensing charged by enterprise software solution developers, and many small business operators can be locked out due to budget constraints. This prevents them from taking advantage of best practice strategies that ensure the security of their intellectual property and the privacy of their communication. Compliance as it concerns digital data is finally catching up to the widening commercial sector which is highly impacted by the success of small businesses. Small firms dealing with compliance issues can turn to SBRM solutions to bridge the gap between staying current with industry regulations and staying in business. Client proofs, patient/client information, private communiqu, and proposals can stay discreet with SBRM solutions; smaller firms dont have to worry that their email content becomes a public announcement. SBRM solutions keep it like a secret, tuning the amplitude of the message down for only its intended recipients to receive. - - - - - - - - - End Notes: 1.) Patricial Nelson Limerick, Eds. Julie Bates Dock, "Making the Most of Words: Verbal Activity and Western America." The Press of Ideas, ( Bedford Books of St. Martins Pres, Boston: 1996.) 219. 2.) "You've Got Mail" New York Times, July 6, 2004 - - - - - - - - - |
Article 
